LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The international NGO Alarm Phone has accused for once more the Maltese authorities of Malta of ignoring a distress call to rescue around 75 people at sea. The NGO said that the migrants have been reportedly rescued by Italy. “Although the authorities do not provide us with information, we believe that the 75 people in distress arrived in Lampedusa. Once more, the authorities of Malta failed to conduct a rescue in the vast Maltese Search and Rescue zone,” Alarm Phone tweeted on Thursday. Among this group of migrants, there were sick and elderly people, and the group did not have food or water and were asking for urgent assistance. Last year, Malta was accused of shirking its responsibilities following the death of Loujin Ahmed Nasif, a four-year-old Syrian girl who died of thirst in Maltàs territorial waters. Days later, another six people, including two babies, died of dehydration on a migrant boat that arrived in the Sicilian port of Pozzallo. One of the survivors, a 6-year-old Syrian girl who was medically airlifted to Malta, was in danger of dying after drinking sea water during the attempted crossing from Libya to Europe.
According to the International Organization for Migration, at least 1,377 migrants drowned during 2022 while attempting to reach Europe across the Central Mediterranean.

foto: agenziafotogramma.it

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews