Italy races to save more than 1,000 migrants

The Italian coastguard launched multiple rescue operations yesterday to save hundreds of migrants packed aboard several boats off the toe of Italy, less than two weeks after at least 73 drowned in a shipwreck.
“More than 1,000 people are in danger,” the coastguard said in a statement.
Three coastguard boats were trying to offload around 500 migrants packed on a vessel 70 miles (110km) south of the Calabrian town of Crotone – close to the scene of the February 26 disaster.
The coastguard said it had also dispatched a couple of boats to rescue about 800 migrants aboard two more vessels further out to sea.
An Italian navy ship was also headed at full speed to the area to help out.
“The rescue operations ... are particularly complex due to the large number of people on board the boats adrift,” the coastguard said.
In a separate incident earlier in the day, the coastguard picked up almost 500 migrants close to the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, local media reported.
Italy’s migrant sea rescue capabilities have come under scrutiny following the February 26 shipwreck off the southern region of Calabria.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government has been forced to deny responsibility for the disaster, amid accusations that it treated the boat as a law enforcement issue rather than a humanitarian emergency.
Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party, which won elections last year, has promised to curb arrivals, but Italy has recently seen a sharp rise in the number of migrants attempting to reach its shores.
The body of a young boy was recovered yesterday, bringing the death toll to 73, with many migrants still missing.
Police vessels had tried but failed to intercept their wooden boat due to adverse weather, and the coastguard, better equipped to face rough seas, was not immediately activated.
Italy’s rightist government responded on Thursday with tougher jail penalties for migrant smugglers and pledges to stop their illegal boat trips, while opening up legal migration channels.
Almost 3,000 people have reached Italy since Wednesday, compared to around 1,300 for the whole of March last year.
As many as 1,869 migrants from 41 separate boats arrived on Lampedusa alone on Thursday, the Ansa news agency said, calling it an all-time record for landings on a single day.