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'Immigrants' drown off Italy
08/03/2002 17:49 - (SA)
Rome - At least seven people were killed and dozens more were missing after a boat carrying illegal immigrants capsized in rough seas off Italy's southern coast, the navy and survivors said on Friday.
The coastguard had recovered seven bodies, including that of a
woman, by midday on Friday but were still trying to determine exactly how many people were on board the boat, which overturned late
Thursday as it was being towed by a fishing vessel.
Eleven people have so far been rescued. They told Italian
authorities that as many as 65 people were on board.
An Italian patrol helicopter earlier on Thursday spotted the long wooden boat in difficulties on its way towards Lampedusa Island, between Italy and Tunisia.
A nearby fishing vessel went to take it in tow, in international waters some 104km south of Lampedusa.
However, heavy seas whipped up by strong winds caused it to
capsize, and only nine people managed to scramble aboard the
fishing vessel. The Italian navy picked up two more survivors.
Sank within minutes
"We were towing the boat with a rope about 60m when
at a certain point we saw it keeling over, maybe because of a wave,
and capsizing. Within a couple of minutes it sank," Vito Diodato,
skipper of the fishing boat said in a statement quoted by the
Lampedusa port authorities.
Italian immigration officials have been sent to the island to
process the survivors' information.
More than 1 300 illegal immigrants have been sent home already this year, Interior Minister Claudio Scajola said earlier this
week.
Last year, some 20 l000 illegal immigrants came ashore along
Italy's thinly-protected 7 600km coastline,
and the trend has continued this year at the rate of hundreds a
month. Many pay unscrupulous trafficking gangs to smuggle them in.
Italy has extended greater stop and search powers to its navy,
and is introducing a series of stringent laws in an attempt to stem
the tide of illegal immigration.
- Sapa-AFP
- SAPA
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