70 migrants from Eritrea, Ghana, Syria reach Italian island of Lampedusa

Some seventy migrants have reached the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa after their boat was intercepted by Tunisian fishing boat 29 kilometres off the coast, according to what the Italian Coast Guard reports.

According to that same coast guard, Malta should have been responsible for the rescue operation, as various media reports today. Whether the Italian Coast Guard saved the people or escorted their boat to the port is unclear for the time being.

“The lives of seventy people were saved and they are safe in the port of Lampedusa,” said the NGO Mediterranea. The people on the boat were from Eritrea, Ghana and Syria and had been on board for 35 hours, according to the Italian news agency Ansa.

Since Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has been running a strict anti-immigration policy, very few migrants have been able to reach the country. So far, about 400 people have arrived in October, according to the Ministry of the Interior.