Die genauesten aktuellen Angaben zur heutigen Schiffskatastrophe liefert momentan lapresse.it: Demzufolge wurden 399 Menschen eines gekenterten Flüchtlingsboots im Meer vor der libyschen Küste nähe Zwara gerettet. Das Flüchtlingsboot hatte ca. 700 Passagiere – ungefähr 300 Menschen sind demzufolge untergegangen. 25 Tote wurden bislang geborgen.
Nach Erfahrungen der aktuellen Berichterstattung zu früheren Schiffskatastrophen ist davon auszugehen, dass die Angaben der Toten im Laufe der kommenden Tage nach oben korrigiert werden.
Wir klagen an:
3. Oktober 2013, 18. April 2015, 5. August 2015: Diese grossen Schiffskatastrophen sind nur der sichtbare Teil eines Massensterbens im Mittelmeer, für das die Europäische Union, Frontex und die Militärs der EUNavForMed die Verantwortung tragen. Fähren statt Frontex!
Quelle: DW
Hunderte Flüchtlinge vor Libyen vermisst
Vor Libyen sind möglicherweise hunderte Flüchtlinge bei einem Schiffsunglück ertrunken. Nach Angaben der italienischen Küstenwache wurden bisher etwa 400 Menschen gerettet, an Bord waren aber wohl rund 700.
Nach dem Untergang eines überladenen Flüchtlingsboots vor der libyschen Küste haben die Einsatzkräfte nach mehr als 200 Vermissten gesucht. Das Fischerboot mit möglicherweise mehr als 600 Menschen an Bord war gekentert, als sich ihm ein erstes Rettungsboot näherte, wie die italienische Küstenwache mitteilte. Nach ihren Angaben wurden bis zum frühen Abend rund 400 Menschen gerettet. Helfer bargen 25 Leichen. An dem Einsatz sind sieben Rettungsboote beteiligt, außerdem unterstützen zwei Helikopter die Rettungsbemühungen.
Das UN-Flüchtlingshilfswerk (UNHCR) erklärte, an Bord des Bootes hätten sich mehr als 600 Menschen befunden, die Organisation Ärzte ohne Grenzen ging von bis zu 700 Geflohenen aus. Das Boot hatte am frühen Morgen einen Hilferuf abgesetzt, der im sizilianischen Catania entgegengenommen wurde. Zwei in der Nähe des Bootes patrouillierende Rettungsschiffe wurden unmittelbar entsandt, das irische Marineschiff „Lé Niamh“ sowie die von der Organisation „Ärzte ohne Grenzen“ gecharterte „Dignity 1“. Später kamen weitere Schiffe dazu.
Das UNHCR sei um das Leben der noch vermissten Flüchtlinge „besorgt“, erklärte das Hilfswerk. Demnach war das Meer relativ ruhig, das Boot sank jedoch schnell, weil es aus Metall war. Offenbar steckten dabei noch zahlreiche Menschen in dem Schiffswrack fest. Das Schiffsunglück soll sich etwa 22 Seemeilen nördlich von Zuwarah ereignet haben. Im April waren schätzungsweise 800 Migranten ertrunken, als ihr Schiff vor der italienischen Insel Lampedusa kenterte und sank.
Schon 2000 Todesopfer dieses Jahr
Die Internationale Organisation für Migration (IOM) hatte am Dienstag in Genf mitgeteilt, seit Jahresbeginn seien bereits mehr als 2000 Menschen bei der Flucht über das Mittelmeer gestorben. Insgesamt unternahmen demnach seit Januar rund 188.000 Flüchtlinge und Migranten die gefährliche Reise über das Mittelmeer nach Europa. Die meisten Flüchtlinge kamen in Griechenland und in Italien an.
Die beiden Länder sind mit der Zahl der ankommenden Flüchtlinge überfordert. Die EU-Kommission will deswegen Asylbewerber über die Gemeinschaft verteilen. Dies stößt jedoch auf Widerstand aus Großbritannien und osteuropäischen Mitgliedsländern der EU. Die EU-Staaten haben beschlossen, Schlepperrouten im Mittelmeer stärker zu überwachen.
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Quelle: FAZ
Hunderte Tote vor der Küste Libyens befürchtet
Vor der Küste Libyens ist ein Flüchtlingsboot gekentert. Etwa 400 Menschen konnten gerettet werden, mindestens 25 kamen ums Leben. Und Hunderte werden noch vermisst.
Bei einem Flüchtlingsdrama sind im Mittelmeer möglicherweise Hunderte Migranten ertrunken. Das voll besetzte Boot kenterte am Mittwoch vor der Küste Libyens, wie die italienische Küstenwache mitteilte. Bis zum Abend konnten 25 Leichen geborgen und 400 schiffbrüchige Menschen in Sicherheit gebracht werden. Es wurde jedoch befürchtet, dass bis zu 700 Menschen an Bord waren. Nach den Vermissten sollte die gesamte Nacht über weiter gesucht werden.
Möglicherweise hatten die Migranten das Boot selbst unbeabsichtigt zum Kentern gebracht, weil sich viele Menschen beim Anblick eines rettenden Schiffes auf eine Bordseite gedrängt hatten. Die Hilfsorganisation Ärzte ohne Grenzen (MSF), die selbst mit zwei Schiffen vor Ort war, bestätigte, dass es viele Tote gegeben habe. Es wäre eins der schlimmsten Flüchtlingsdramen der vergangenen Monate.
Nach Angaben von Ärzte ohne Grenzen sollen etwa 700 Menschen an Bord gewesen sein. „Es gibt die Befürchtung, dass viele Menschen noch an Bord waren“, sagte ein Sprecher des UN-Flüchtlingshilfswerks UNHCR. Viele Menschen könnten unter Deck im Frachtraum des Schiffs gewesen sein, so dass sie kaum eine Chance auf Rettung hatten.
Die Migranten waren vermutlich mit ihrem kaum seetüchtigen Holzboot von Libyen aus aufgebrochen. Schon nach wenigen Meilen gerieten sie in Seenot und setzten einen Hilferuf ab. Daraufhin wurde ein irisches Marineschiff in der Nähe alarmiert und eilte den Flüchtlingen zur Hilfe. Genau das wurde den Menschen an Bord ersten Erkenntnissen zufolge zum Verhängnis: Beim Anblick der Retter bewegten sich viele von ihnen auf eine Seite des Schiffs und brachten es zum Kentern.
Die italienische Küstenwache koordinierte die anschließende Rettungsaktion mit mehreren Schiffen. Neben Einsatzkräften der Marine und von Ärzte ohne Grenzen war auch die private Rettungsmission MOAS aus Malta beteiligt. Auch mehrere Hubschrauber waren am Unglücksort im Einsatz. Das Drama ereignete sich etwa 28 Kilometer vor der libyschen Küste. Der Alarm war am Mittag ausgelöst worden; die Küstenwache schickte daraufhin mehrere Boote zur Unglücksstelle.
Es könnte das schlimmste Unglück im Mittelmeer seit Monaten sein. Im April waren Hunderte Migranten ertrunken, als ihr Schiff kenterte. Erst am Dienstag hatte die Internationale Organisation für Migration (IOM) eine vorläufige Bilanz veröffentlicht, wonach in den ersten sieben Monaten des Jahres mehr als 2000 Flüchtlinge im Mittelmeer ums Leben gekommen sind. Die tödlichste Route ist demnach die von Libyen nach Italien – die vermutlich auch die Flüchtlinge am Mittwoch nehmen wollten.
Fast 100.000 Bootsflüchtlinge sind in diesem Jahr schon über das Mittelmeer nach Italien gelangt. In Griechenland sind es fast genauso viele, aber der Seeweg von der Türkei zu einer griechischen Insel ist erheblich kürzer. Skrupellose Schlepper setzen oft alte und kaum seetüchtige Boote ein, weshalb es immer wieder zu Unglücken kommt.
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Quelle: The Guardian
At least 25 dead and 400 rescued after migrant boat capsizes off Libya
Boat thought to be carrying up to 600 people appears to have capsized after migrants rushed to one side as rescue vessel approached
About 400 migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean have been rescued off the coast of Libya, and 25 bodies recovered so far, after a metal boat capsized.
It is thought up to 600 migrants were on the boat, many believed to have been kept in the hull. The boat is believed to have hit rough weather 15 miles off the Libyan coast, and made a distress call that was received in Sicily.
An Irish rescue vessel, Le Niamh, and Dignity I, a boat operated by Doctors without Borders, were dispatched to the area. They were later joined by three other ships and a helicopter.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR said there is not likely to be any more information iuntil survivors are interviewed by aid workers and Italian officials on Thursday morning.
“We believe the boat was carrying about 600 people, but we will never really know how many sank,” said a UNHCR spokesman.
The boat tipped over after passengers apparently rushed to one side as mobile units sent by Le Niamh approached. The fact that the boat was metal meant that it sank particularly fast, the UNHCR added.
In April, a boat carrying an estimated 800 migrants overturned, also off Libya’s coast, where smugglers operate. Only 28 survivors, including two alleged smugglers, were found.
More than 2,000 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe this year, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
The aid group said the central Mediterranean route from Africa to southern Italy is far more dangerous than other routes used by migrants.
It noted that while both Italy and Greece have experienced a similar inflow of migrants this year (97,000 in Italy and 90,500 in Greece), almost 2,000 died making their way to Italy while 60 are known to have died trying to get to Greece.
Non-governmental organisations often join migrant sea rescue operations, which are coordinated by Italy’s coastguard and are now under the umbrella of an EU taskforce known as Triton.
Last October, the EU opted not to replace the Italian-run search-and-rescue operation Mare Nostrum, which saved about 100,000 lives last year, amid fears that it was encouraging smugglers and migrants to organise more trips to Europe.
Save the Children, the relief agency, said it was anticipating that survivors of Wednesday’s incident would be landing in Palermo, Sicily, on Thursday morning.
There, the migrants are likely to be assessed and interviewed before heading into a reception centre. Those who wish to seek asylum in Italy will be fingerprinted, but those who are seeking to travel to other destinations in northern Europe are unlikely to be fingerprinted by Italian authorities.
The UNHCR said on Wednesday evening that the rescue mission was ongoing.
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Quelle: LaPresse
Libia, barcone carico di migranti si ribalta: almeno 25 morti, oltre trecento salvati
Roma, 5 ago. (LaPresse) – Sarebbero 399 le persone salvate, mentre il numero delle salme è salito a 25. E‘ questo il tragico bilancio comunicato dall’Alto Commissariato delle Nazioni Unite per i Rifugiati – che lo scrive su Twitter – in riferimento all’incidente avvenuto nel mar Mediterraneo al largo della Libia. Un barcone con a bordo circa 700 migranti africani si è rovesciato quando le navi di soccorso si sono avvicinate, secondo quanto riferito da un portavoce della guardia costiera italiana. Le operazioni di soccorso sono tuttora in corso e vedono impegnate navi italiane e irlandesi.
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Quelle: tgcom24
Libia, si ribalta barcone con 600 migranti: già recuperati 25 cadaveri
Il bilancio dei morti è provvisorio: al momento sono state tratte in salvo circa 400 persone
17:19 – Un barcone con circa 600 migranti si è capovolto al largo della Libia: l’incidente è avvenuto quando le persone a bordo hanno visto i soccorsi arrivare nella zona. Già recuperati 25 cadaveri, ma si teme che i morti possano essere molti di più. Al momento sarebbero stati salvati circa 400 persone.
Libia, si ribalta barcone con 600 migranti: già recuperati 25 cadaveri
Il naufragio è avvenuto a 22 miglia nautiche a largo di Zuwara e al momento stanno operando in zona diverse imbarcazioni per cercare di salvare il maggior numero di persone.
Barcone ribaltato poco prima dell’arrivo dei soccorsi – L’allarme era arrivato alla centrale operativa della Guardia Costiera di Roma nella tarda mattinata da Catania, che a sua volta aveva ricevuto una segnalazione con una chiamata satellitare nella quale si sosteneva che un motopeschereccio in ferro, con a bordo diverse centinaia di persone, era in difficoltà. Nella zona sono state immediatamente dirottate dalla Guardia Costiera la Dignity One, una nave di Medici senza frontiere, e la Le Niamh, una nave della Marina militare irlandese.
Quest’ultima è stata la prima ad arrivare e, a circa un miglio di distanza dal peschereccio, ha calato due rescue boat per andare a soccorrere i migranti. A quel punto dalla nave irlandese hanno visto il barcone capovolgersi: l’ipotesi più probabile è che i migranti si siano spostati tutti nella direzione delle barche di soccorso, provocando così il ribaltamento.
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Quelle: BBC
Rescue under way as migrant boat capsizes off Libya
Rescuers are searching for hundreds of migrants in the Mediterranean after a boat carrying as many as 600 people capsized off the coast of Libya.
The Irish navy said „significant loss of life“ was feared and Medecins Sans Frontieres confirmed „many deaths“.
But the Italian coast guard and the UN refugee agency say about 400 have been rescued and 25 bodies recovered so far.
More than 2,000 migrants are said to have died in 2015 trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe.
Wednesday’s incident occurred when the packed fishing boat ran into rough weather about 15 miles (25km) from Libya’s coast.
A distress call was picked up in Sicily and one of the first ships on the scene was an Irish navy vessel. But as she launched her boats, the migrants apparently moved to one side of the fishing boat, causing it to capsize.
At least three other ships and three helicopters were reported to have arrived in the area shortly afterwards.
‚Capsized very fast‘
Cmdr Filippo Marini of the Italian coast guard said the rescue operation was still ongoing and now involved seven ships, .
He said survivors had indicated that between 400 and 600 people were on board the boat when it capsized.
Melissa Fleming, a UN refugee agency (UNHCR) spokeswoman, said about 100 people are thought to have been travelling in the boat’s hull at the time, adding: „The boat capsized very fast“.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said its Dignity I vessel was at the scene and two more of its boats were on their way to the area.
„The team on the #Dignity1 can confirm that there have tragically been many deaths but does not have figures at this stage,“ MSF said in a tweet.
It said the same vessel had also been involved in another rescue operation earlier on Wednesday, in which about 100 migrants were rescued.
The Mediterranean Sea is the world’s most deadly border area for migrants.
In April, a fishing boat carrying about 800 migrants sank off the coast of Libya in what the UN called the deadliest incident in the Mediterranean ever recorded.
Earlier this week, the IOM warned that the number of migrants attempting to cross the sea is much higher than in the same period last year.
„It is unacceptable that in the 21st Century people fleeing from conflict, persecutions, misery and land degradation must endure such terrible experiences […] and then die on Europe’s doorstep,“ IOM director general William Lacy Swing said in a statement.
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Quelle: Diritti e Frontiere
Centinaia di vittime al largo del porto di Zuwara. I primi interventi operati da navi umanitarie e dalla Guardia Costiera. Poi arriva la Marina militare ma nessuna notizia di Frontex/Triton e delle navi impegnate nell’operazione EUNAVFOR MED.
The team on the #Dignity1 can confirm that there have tragically been many deaths but does not have figures at this stage
Delle navi di Frontex/Triton l’unica che si è distinta per un impegno continuativo è stato questo rimorchiatore della marina svedese, il Poseidon, qui all’ingresso del porto di Messina. Lo stesso convolto in un incidente con un gommone della marina italiana, sul quale i fucilieri imbarcati a bordo del mezzo svedese hanno aperto il fuoco credendo che si trattasse di scafisti.
Oggi si teme la morte di centinaia di persone. La stampa italiana parla solo dei morti recuperati e del numero dei superstiti, poi degli scafisti arrestati per un altro sbarco, che con questa notizia non c’entrano niente, ma fanno sempre brodo. Schema classico. All’estero, magari in Australia, in Nuova Zelanda o in America, fanno capire di più.
- http://www.radioaustralia.net.au
- http://www.plenglish.com//
- http://www.radionz.co.nz
- http://www.newsweek.com/
Il capovolgimento del barcone al largo della costa di Zuwara, quando la salvezza sembrava ormai vicina, la prima nave ad arrivare la nave militare irlandese LE Niamh, che in queste settimane ha operato incessantemente nell’ambito di una missione umanitaria denominata Pontus, quindi al di fuori del dispositivo Frontex/Triton che risulta assolutamente latitante. Secondo le prime notizie venticinque morti accertati, ma si sospetta che le vittime possano essere molte di più.
Non ci sono tracce delle numerose navi militari, guidate dalla portaerei italiana Cavour, che potrebbero essere utilissime se fossero destinate anche ad interventi SAR (ricerca e salvataggio) in una zona che è abbastanza ristretta ( 20-40 miglia a nord della costa libica, tra Zuwara e Misurata) e nella quale continuano a morire i migranti. Poi alla fine è sempre facile dare la colpa agli scafisti, e per tutte le autorità militari che si stanno preparando all’intervento in Libia, senza operare in attività SAR (ricerca e salvataggio) l’assoluzione è pronta.
A bordo secondo la stampa maltese, sembra che fossero in 700 persone. Ci sarebbero comunque oltre 400 superstiti, tutti a bordo della nave irlandese.
Nelle scorse settimane la collaborazione tra la nave militare irlandese Le Niamh e la Guardia costiera italiana aveva contribuito al salvataggio di migliaia di vite. Ma questa volta non è bastata ad evitare altre centinaia di vitime.
C’era una volta l’operazione TRITON di Frontex. All’inizio dell’anno era prevista in una versione ridotta, rispetto alla precedente operazione Mare Nostrum, che aveva consentito alla Marina ed alla Guardia costiera italiana di salvare decine di migliaia di persone. Ma per qualcuno quei salvataggi avevano avuto un effetto attrattivo, ed occorreva ritirare i mezzi dedicati pervalentemente al salvataggio per adottare una politica „dissuasiva“ con il rafforzamento di Frontex, e degli accordi bilateralidi polizia per i respingimenti sommari con voli congiunti, ritirando le navi europee al limite delle 30 miglia al largo di Malta e Lampedusa.Dopo la strage del 18 aprile, con 800 morti, ancora dispersi in fondo al mare, l’Unione Europea aveva deciso di triplicare il budget ( e dunque si doveva pensare le dotazioni in mezzi ed uomini) e portare le navi di Frontex fino a 138 miglia a sud di Malta e Lampedusa, esattamente nella zona in cui ancora oggi sono più frquenti i maufragi.
Per due mesi, fino al Consiglio Europeo del 25-26 giugno non c’erano stati naufragi, e le poche vittime erano morte a bordo dei barconi per le condizioni terribili nelle quali erano partite dalla Libia ( si pensi al caso dei migranti imbarcati dopo avere subito gravissime ustioni a seguito dello scoppio di una bombola di gas).
Poi alla fine di giugno molte navi europee sono state ritirate e la maggior parte dei salvataggi tra la Libia e la Sicilia sono stati operati da quattro navi umanitarie, tra queste anche la nave militare irlandese Le Niamh, che opera all’interno della missione umanitaria PONTUS.
Durante il mese di luglio, malgrado il generoso impegno delle navi umanitarie e della Guardia Costiera, impegnate anche in lunghi trasferimenti oltre che verso Pozzallo o Siracusa, anche verso Porto Empedocle, Trapani, Messina, Palermo ed i porti calabresi di Vibo e di Crotone, dunque a lunghe assenze dalla zona operativa SAR, si è quindi verificato uno stillicidio di morti in mare, ma nessuno ci ha fatto caso, sembrava ormai rientrare nella normalità. Una normalità che deriva anche dal disimpegno dei mezzi di Frontex dalle attività di ricerca e salvataggio coordinate dalla Guardia Costiera italiana.
In questo caso i migranti sbarcati a Palermo da un mezzo appartenente alla missione Triton di Frontex, erano stati già soccorsi in precedenza da imbarcazioni della Guardia costiera italiana e poi trasferite a bordo del rinorchiatore d’alto mare SIEM PILOT.
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Quelle: Malta Today
400 migrants rescued in massive operation after boat carrying 600 capsizes off Libya
Italian coast guard says 400 have been rescued after 600 on board of wooden boat capsized 11 miles off Libya • 100 were in the hull; 25 dead
Shipwreck 15 miles off Libyan coast. Courtesy: IOM
At 6pm, reports came in that some 400 had been been rescued in the mission being coordinated by the Italian coastguard. Unconfirmed reports are that 16 are reported dead. The boat was reported to have sunk after it capsized.
The Irish Navy feared „significant loss of life“ while Medecins Sans Frontieres reported „many deaths“.
The Italian coast guard said that a distress signal was recieved earlier this morning. It appears that once the Irish naval vessel LÉ Niamh arrived on the scene at 11:44am, hundreds of migrants on board rushed to one side of the boat, throwing the boat off-balance. The Italian coast guard then redirected an Italian coast guard ship, the MOAS’s Phoenix, the Médècins sans Frontières’s Dignity, merchant vessel Bourbon Argos, and two Italian navy ships, to the scene of the disaster: a total of seven ships now involved in the rescue.
A spokesperson for the Maltese government told MaltaToday that the Italian coast guard was offered the assistance of the AFM’s P61 patrol boat.
The Italian Coast Guard confirmed that the boat was carrying between 600-700 migrants, capsizing 15 miles off the Libyan coast. Irish military official Capt. Donal Gallagher told the Associated Press that some 150 migrants were spotted in the water Wednesday morning and that rescue efforts by several ships were underway. An Italian military helicopter was lowering life rafts.
„It’s extremely windy and stormy in this area of Libya,“ the IOM’s Leonard Doyle told the BBC.
Nawal Soufi, an Arabic-speaking Italian based in Sicily who is often contacted by migrants in distress, told AFP that she had taken a call earlier on Wednesday about a boat in trouble with 600 people on board. “It is probably the same boat,” Italian coastguard spokesman Filippo Marini said.
Earlier on Wednesday, MSF’s Dignity 1 carried out another rescue of 94 people, including 15 women and a five-year-old boy, who were packed in a rubber dinghy.
The Irish Naval vessel LÉ Niamh, under the command of Lieut Cdr Daniel Wall, had rescued 1,280 migrants up to last Tuesday since taking over from the LÉ Eithne in the Mediterranean earlier this month.
In April 2015, some 850 migrants drowned in a single incident, leading to intensified efforts by EU leaders to provide assistance to migrants fleeing the Libyan unrest by boat. This could well be among the worst disasters at sea since then.
The International Organisation for Migration says that the central Mediterranean route is the deadliest route for migrants. In the same period last year, 1,607 migrants died at sea – in 2014, 3,279 were killed attempting the journey.
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Quelle: Yahoo New Zealand
Over 200 migrants feared drowned off Libya
Rome (AFP) – Over 200 migrants attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean were feared to have drowned Wednesday after their overcrowded fishing boat capsized off Libya.
The boat, believed to have been carrying over 600 migrants including women and children, ran into difficulty about 15 nautical miles off Libya and sent out a distress call, which was picked up by the coastguard in Sicily.
Coastguard spokesman Filippo Marini said around 400 people had been rescued from the water while 25 bodies had been recovered.
Irish patrol vessel LE Niamh and a ship deployed by medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) were among the first to be dispatched.
According to the Irish authorities, 367 people, including 12 women and 13 children, had been rescued.
Six other people, including a baby no more than a year old and a survivor with a broken leg, were taken to the Italian island of Lampedusa, Federico Fossi, spokesman in Italy for the UN refugee agency, told AFP.
While the sea was very calm, „the boat overturned and sank quickly because it was made of metal,“ Fossi added.
The agency’s chief spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said on Twitter that „100 (migrants) were in the hull“ of the fishing vessel when it capsized.
Seven ships, several helicopters and a drone were helping search for survivors.
More than 2,000 people have already died trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe this year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
Wednesday’s disaster could be the worst since 800 migrants were feared drowned off Libya in April.
Working flat out
Ireland’s Defence Minister Simon Coveney confirmed that the Niamh was diverted to the scene at 7:00 am (0900 GMT) and warned „the loss of life is likely to be significant“.
„The crew of the Niamh are working flat out with their counterparts to rescue as many as possible,“ he said in a statement.
Nawal Soufi, an Arabic-speaking Italian based in Sicily who is often contacted by migrants in distress, told AFP she had received a call earlier on Wednesday about a boat in trouble with more than 600 people on board.
She said she was called by someone onboard who said the fishing boat, carrying men, women and children, was in trouble because its engine room was flooded.
Marini confirmed it was probably the same boat.
‚Disappointed‘
The latest shipwreck was set to shift the focus in the immigration debate back to the struggles of those fleeing war zones, after weeks of complaints from France and Britain over the disruption caused by asylum seekers at the Channel Tunnel.
Also on Wednesday, 94 people on board a rubber boat were rescued in a separate operation, coastguards told AFP.
European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker told AFP Wednesday that EU governments have a duty to help the flood of migrants arriving in Europe and not cave in to „populist“ demands to turn them back.
He said he was disappointed that EU ministers had failed late last month to agree on how to distribute a total of 40,000 mostly Syrian and Eritrean migrants from overstretched Italy and Greece.
They agreed to start relocating a little over 32,000 of the arrivals among the EU’s 28 members in October, falling around 8,000 short of the target agreed by EU leaders at a summit in June.
„If we don’t get there on a voluntary basis, we will have to reconsider the Commission’s proposals,“ the former premier of Luxembourg said.
Nearly all of the people crossing the Mediterranean so far this year, often in rickety boats and at the mercy of human traffickers, have landed either in Italy (97,000) or Greece (90,500), according to the IOM.
The so-called central Mediterranean route proved by far the deadliest, with just over 1,930 people dying as they tried to cross from Libya to Italy, while only about 60 died trying to reach Greece.
The eastern route is shorter and IOM said that traffickers taking people to Italy tended to use more unseaworthy vessels.