Two makeshift boats carrying migrants who hoped to reach the island of Lampedusa, in Sicily, despite very rough seas, have disappeared for several days. At least 70 people may have died in the central Mediterranean as research has not yet yielded any results.
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With our correspondent in Rome, Anne le Nir
The first boat, which was heading towards Sicily, left Sfax on the night of January 10 to 11 with on board 37 Tunisians aged 14 to 30 whose families raised the alarm after losing all contact. According to the Tunisian National Guard, significant resources were deployed in collaboration with the Italian Navy for concentrated searches off the coast of Sfax and Mahdia. But without results to date.
The second boat which was carrying around forty migrants, who had left the Libyan coast, was seen in Maltese waters by a plane from the European agency Frontex on January 12. According to the Alarm Phone network, the contacts were lost the next day.
In Rome, the General Command of the Coast Guard confirms that the search continues with Italian and Maltese naval units as well as Frontex aircraft. But for the moment, no trace of the boat. This accentuates the fear of a double fatal shipwreck which would be the first tragedy, in 2024, on the central Mediterranean route.
► Also see: Infomigrants