Boat Carrying 400 Migrants Adrift in the Mediterranean

0:00

/0:00

1×

Facts

• A vessel with around 400 migrants and refugees onboard is adrift in the Mediterranean between Italy and Malta as it awaits rescue from the Italian coast guard, according to sea rescue support service Alarm Phone.¹
• The boat is about 170 miles southeast of Capo Passero, off the coast of Calabria, and is at risk of capsizing after being stranded for at least 24 hours. Italy's coast guard has three rescue operations involving multiple vessels.²
• A total of 1.2K migrants are reportedly currently adrift at sea, with another vessel carrying 800 people detected 120 miles southeast of Siracusa, Sicily. Before these two operations, the Italian coastguard said it had already rescued around 2K migrants since Friday.³
• At least two migrants died and 20 others are missing after their boat sank between Tunisia and Italy over the weekend. The nongovernmental organization ResQship said its rescuers reached the area of the wreck on Saturday and found about 25 people in the water, who said they had been there for two hours.⁴
• Italy has experienced a migration crisis as more than 28K migrants have arrived in Italy since the start of the year — almost 400% more over the same period in 2022. Giorgia Meloni’s new government has focused on stemming migration.⁵

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²CNN, ³Cna, ⁴NPR Online News and ⁵Breitbart.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by Sea. Italian and Maltese authorities have left hundreds of people to die at sea, showing a complete disregard for humanitarian values. The delays in maritime search and rescue represent extraordinary negligence. However, Italy and Malta’s deliberate political choices prevented stranded migrants from getting the help they needed to survive. Anti-immigration governments are costing people’s lives.
• Right narrative, as provided by American spectator. While woke nonprofits point fingers and demonize Italian authorities, Italy competently conducts search-and-rescue at sea. Italy cannot stop thousands of migrants from embarking on dangerous journeys. While certain organizations and left-wing groups point the finger at Italy, they offer no solutions for addressing the root of the migration crisis.