In a written statement made yesterday evening by the Italian Coast Guard Command, a rescue operation was carried out on a capsized boat about 100 miles off the coast of Libya, upon the call of the civil organization called “Alarm Phone”, which announced the calls for help from the immigrants in the Mediterranean on social media, and the support request of the Libyan authorities. specified.
It was noted that 17 people on the boat, which was reported to have 47 people in the operation, were rescued, but 30 people were missing.
It was stated that the patrol plane of the European Union (EU) Border Protection Agency (Frontex) continues to operate from the sea in order to find the missing irregular migrants.
It was stated that two of the survivors will be evacuated in Malta as they need urgent medical attention.
In the statement of the Italian Coast Guard, it was emphasized that the rescue operation was outside the borders of the Italian search and rescue zone, while it was noted that other relevant national maritime rescue and coordination centers were indifferent to the issue.
Meanwhile, left-wing opposition parties in Italy, especially the Alarm Phone non-governmental organization, reacted to the right-wing coalition government led by Giorgia Meloni on the grounds that it was too late to organize a rescue operation in this latest tragedy.
On the other hand, the number of people who died in the migrant boat disaster off the coast of Steccato di Cutro town of Italy on February 26, another incident in which opposition circles harshly criticized the government for not saving immigrants, rose to 79. Italian security forces pulled the bodies of 3 more people from the sea yesterday, after the incident that had passed two weeks ago.