At least 94 dead in migrant shipwreck off Italy

[Makanyaga]

[h=1]At least 94 dead in migrant shipwreck off Italy[/h]

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NICOLE WINFIELD 1 hour ago




ROME (AP) — A ship carrying African migrants to Europe caught fire and capsized off the Italian island of Lampedusa on Thursday, killing at least 94 people as it spilled hundreds of passengers into the sea, officials said. Over 150 people were rescued but some 200 others were still unaccounted-for.
It was one of the deadliest accidents in recent times during the notoriously perilous Mediterranean Sea crossing from Africa for migrants seeking a new life in the European Union.
"We need only caskets, certainly not ambulances," Pietro Bartolo, chief of health services on the island, told Radio 24. He gave the death toll of 94 but told Sky TG24 he expected that to rise as search operations continued.
"It's an immense tragedy," said Lampedusa Mayor Giusi Nicolini, adding that the dead included at least one child of about 3 and a pregnant woman.
Blue, white and black tarps covered the bodies at the port.
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Firefighters unload the body of a drowned migrant from a Coast Guard boat in the port of Lampedusa, …

Coast guard ships, local fishing boats and helicopters from across the region were combing the waters trying to find survivors, said coast guard spokesman Marco Di Milla. The boat left from Tripoli with migrants from Eritrea, Ghana and Somalia, Di Milla said.
Antonio Candela, the government's health commissioner for Palermo, said 159 people had been rescued, but the boat is believed to have been carrying as many as 500 people, the LaPresse news agency reported.
Nicolini said the ship had caught fire after those on board set off flares so it would be seen by passing ships. The ship apparently then capsized, spilling the passengers into the sea near Conigli island.
Lampedusa is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland — a mere 70 miles (113 kilometers) off the coast of Tunisia — and is the frequent destination for smugglers' boats.
Interior Minister Angelino Alfano canceled his appointments Thursday and headed to Italy's southernmost island to oversee the rescue operations. Pope Francis, who visited Lampedusa in July, quickly sent condolences.
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Bodies of drowned migrants are lined up in the port of Lampedusa Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013. Tens of peo …

It was the second shipwreck this week off Italy: On Monday, 13 men drowned while trying to reach southern Sicily when their ship ran aground just a few meters (yards) from shore.
Hundreds of migrants reach Italy's shores every day, particularly during the summer when seas are usually calmer. They are processed in centers, screened for asylum and often sent back home. Those who aren't usually melt into the general public and make their way to northern Europe, where immigrant communities are bigger and better organized. In Italy, migrants can only work legally if they have a work permit and contract before they arrive.
According to the U.N. refugee agency, 8,400 migrants landed in Italy and Malta in the first six months of the year, almost double the 4,500 who arrived during the first half of 2012.
It's still a far cry from the tens of thousands who flooded to Italy, especially through Lampedusa, during the Arab Spring exodus of 2011.
The numbers, though, have spiked in recent weeks, particularly with Syrian arrivals.
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Bodies of drowned migrants are lined up in the port of Lampedusa Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013. Tens of peo …

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees had recorded 40 deaths in the first half of 2013 for migrants arriving in Italy and Malta, and a total of 500 for all of 2012, based on interviews with survivors. Fortress Europe, an Italian observatory that tracks migrant deaths reported by the media, says about 6,450 people died in the Canal of Sicily between 1994 and 2012.

Source: At least 94 dead in migrant shipwreck off Italy

 

[Mkoroshokigoli]

Aaaah,waafrika tunataabika sana,,,,,,,sasa hivi ndo vifo vinavyoripotiwa,je visivyoripotiwa????

 

[Victoire]

ukute hapo walilipa hata euro 4000 kila mtu ili kuvushwa,hizo pesa si wangeanzisha hata biashara,wanafikiri ULAYA NI PARADISO,acha wafe,umaskini wa fikra ndo unawasumbua,kwa sasa pesa ipo Africa bwana

 

[Mbonge]

Boti iliyokuwa imebeba takriban watu 500 wenye asili ya kiafrika imezama nchini Italy, na inasemekana boti hiyo imezama kilomita moja tu kabla ya kufika ktk fuo,na imeripotiwa kuwa miili 113 ndiyo iliyopatikan na watu 150 ndiwo wameokolewa ikiwa bado shughuli za uopoaji wa miili mingine zinaendelea! Na inasemekana miili hiyo imebaki kwnye boti, binafsi nasema nimesikitika sana na Mungu azilaze mahala pema roho za marehemu huko peponi! Swali ninalojiuliza je serikali ya Italy je haina utaratibu wa ulinzi na ukaguzi wa vyombo vya majin, na patrol?kinachoniuma zaidi kuona kwamba ilikuwa kilmta moja kufika je ambapo ilikuwa ni jiran sana inamaana serkl imeshndwa kuwk utaratbu wa ku take risk ya vyombo vya majin, idadi hiyo ni kubwa sana, na jiuliza swali hili pia, au kwa sababu ni waafrika? Na kama ndivyo swali na kwann?

 

[Money Stunna]

si mara moja inatokea mara nyingi raia wa Eritrea na Somalia mawazo yao yote kuishi ulaya kwa gharama yoyote ile.

 

[jerrytz]

Ulaya walijenga nchi zao na kuziendeleza, leo Waafrika tunataka twende ku-enjoy! Huwa wanasema akili ni nywele............

 

[m_kishuri]

Ulaya walijenga nchi zao na kuziendeleza, leo Waafrika tunataka twende ku-enjoy! Huwa wanasema akili ni nywele............

Mkuu Jerrytz, ni kweli kwamba Ulaya walijenga nchi zao. Lakini suala la Immigration lipo tangu kuumbwa kwa Dunia na litaendelea mpaka kesho. Kuanzia karne ya 13 mpaka ya 17, wazungu walikuwa wanahama kutoka makwao kwenda dunia nzima kutafuta maisha. Hata baada ya vita ya I na ya II za Dunia, wazungu wengi walihamia U.S na kwingineko kutafuta maisha baada ya madhara ya vita. Lakini leo kwa waafrika na Malatino imekuwa NONGWA. Marekani wanajenga ukuta. Ulaya, kama wangeweza pia wangejenga ukuta. Ni jambo la kusikitisha sana. Cha ajabu ni kwamba viongozi wengi wa Africa hawana courage ya kuliongelea hili suala. Au at least watafute suluhisho la hili tatizo la kusikitisha. Coverage ya hii ajali ni ndogo sana kwenye vyombo vya habari vya Afrika, yaani utadhani wahanga wa hii ajali hawana thamani.:A S-confused1:

 

[m_kishuri]

 

[Jerrymsigwa]

Nalaumu sana hii kitu, watu wanauza vitu ili kuwa wahamiaji haramu kwa kuamini kuwa wanaenda ulaya kwenye afadhali ya maisha. Utapandaje boti kusafiri wiki 2 majini na huendi sehem uliona na matumaini? Aisee mbya sana, ndio mana Mliberali Tony Abbot kaamua kuwarudisha wote wanaonusa nchi yake ama anawapeleka Nauru hukoo ndio kubaya zaidi.

Tujifunze kutumia fursa za kwetu au kufuata utaratibu wa kwenda sehem. Aug mwaka huu kuna watz wa2 wazamiaji wanatokea manzese walipanda boti na kufika huku aisee yani basi tu ni very risk life sishauri kbs heri kukaa masikini tu home

 

[jerrytz]

Mkuu Jerrytz, ni kweli kwamba Ulaya walijenga nchi zao. Lakini suala la Immigration lipo tangu kuumbwa kwa Dunia na litaendelea mpaka kesho. Kuanzia karne ya 13 mpaka ya 17, wazungu walikuwa wanahama kutoka makwao kwenda dunia nzima kutafuta maisha. Hata baada ya vita ya I na ya II za Dunia, wazungu wengi walihamia U.S na kwingineko kutafuta maisha baada ya madhara ya vita. Lakini leo kwa waafrika na Malatino imekuwa NONGWA. Marekani wanajenga ukuta. Ulaya, kama wangeweza pia wangejenga ukuta. Ni jambo la kusikitisha sana. Cha ajabu ni kwamba viongozi wengi wa Africa hawana courage ya kuliongelea hili suala. Au at least watafute suluhisho la hili tatizo la kusikitisha. Coverage ya hii ajali ni ndogo sana kwenye vyombo vya habari vya Afrika, yaani utadhani wahanga wa hii ajali hawana thamani.:A S-confused1:

Well, nimependa namna ulivyoliweka hili swala. Uhamiaji haukwepeki ila kinachonisikitisha zaidi ni kuwa nchi za Kiafrika bado hazina jitihada za kutosha kupunguza umaskini kwa raia wake. Unadhani kama kungekuwa na mfumo bora wa elimu hata kama watu wangehama lakini wangehama kwa namna stahiki kwa kufuata njia halali. Tatizo ni kubwa kwani si Waafrika pekee wanaohama kwenda kutafuta maisha, Marekani inakabiliana na tatizo hili kutoka Mexico, Cuba na Visiwa vya Caribean. Kuhusu coverage ya habari kwa vyombo vya Kiafrika nadhani ni kwa sababu vyombo vyetu bado dhaifu katika suala zima la news coverage, ndio maana hata issue ya Westgate- Kenya wengi wetu tulikuwa tunapata habari kupitia vyombo vya Ulaya -CNN,BBC,Sky News na Aljazeera.