UNHCR lauds Italian efforts to trace missing migrants' boat
The UN refugees agency has commended the
Italian Coast Guard and the navy for their efforts to try and locate a boat carrying dozens of Eritrean migrants, which has been reported missing south of Malta since last Monday.
Migrants have survived aboard boats adrift in the Mediterranean for over a fortnight and the UNHCR therefore reemphasised its appeal to continue and, indeed, step up rescue and search activities.
The Armed Forces of Malta has called off the search, saying it had done everything possible to retrieve 57 Eritreans, whose boat was seen 80 miles south of the island.
An AFM aircraft had spotted the immigrants but by the time it returned to Malta for refuelling and a rescue vessel was sent to the area, the Eritreans' boat was gone.
Following pressure by the UNHCR, the Italian navy has committed an aircraft to the search and seven patrol boats belonging to the Coast Guard left Lampedusa and the southern shores of Sicily yesterday.
The search and rescue operation highlights the Italian maritime authorities' long-standing commitment to saving lives at sea, a humanitarian task they fulfil with the utmost dedication, the UNHCR said. The number of migrants crammed on the boat, which has been confirmed missing since Tuesday afternoon, has been put at 57 and includes women, children, and, in all likelihood, individuals fleeing persecution and armed conflict.
Relatives of those on board who live in Italy had raised the alarm on Monday by contacting the Italian Coast Guard. Photographs taken by the AFM appear to show the migrants bailing out water with a jerry can. Search and rescue activities were considered completed by the Maltese authorities on Tuesday.
The UNHCR works closely with the International Maritime Organisation to disseminate principles and practices relating to rescue operations at sea involving migrants and refugees in distress.
A spokesman for the Armed Forces of Malta said it was a relatively quiet day yesterday, after a week of a steady flow of migrants who capitalise on the fine weather.
However, the army said it was persisting with its constant monitoring and surveillance towards the south of the island.
In the meantime, 78 illegal immigrants landed in Sicily early yesterday morning, including 52 in Lampedusa. However, contrary to some media reports, the Lampedusa group was not the same one spotted off Malta last Monday.
The EU has promised to start surveillance patrols off Malta earlier than planned.