移民船２隻難破 計１１人死亡、６０人前後行方不明 イタリア沖

【ローマＡＦＰ＝時事】イタリア南部の沖合でここ数日、移民を乗せた船２隻が相次いで難破し、これまでに計１１人の死亡を確認、数十人が行方不明になっている。１７日も生存者や遺体の捜索活動が行われた。（写真は、イタリア南部カラブリア州沖で漂流していた小型船。沿岸警備隊は当初、１２人の救助を発表していた。沿岸警備隊提供）
　イタリアの沿岸警備隊によれば、１隻目の難破では移民最大６０人が行方不明になっているとみられ、１６日夜から捜索活動が続けられている。出航地はトルコとみられるという。
　フランスの遊覧船が「沈没しかけたボート」を発見したと救難信号を発信し、移民１２人を救助。移民らはイタリアの沿岸警備隊のボートに移され、イタリア南部のロッチェライオーニカまで移送されたが、その後、１人の死亡が確認された。
　行方不明者の数について、ＡＮＳＡ通信は約５０人、ラジオ局の「Ｒａｄｉｏ Ｒａｄｉｃａｌｅ」は６４人と伝えた。Ｒａｄｉｏ Ｒａｄｉｃａｌｅは、アフガニスタンとイランからの移民だとしている。
　また、さらに南方ランペドゥーザ島の沖合では、木造のボートから移民１０人の遺体が発見された。ドイツの援助団体「ＲｅｓＱｓｈｉｐ」が１７日にＸで明らかにした。
　同団体によれば、船は「完全に浸水しており、５１人を救助したが、このうち２人は意識不明」だという。また、水が入り込んでいた船の下層デッキで１０人の遺体を発見したとしている。
　ＡＮＳＡは、この船の生存者はバングラデシュ、パキスタン、エジプト、シリア出身で、渡航費として１人約３５００ドル（約５５万円）を支払っていたと報じている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/06/18-18:28）

Rescuers were scouring the sea off southern Italy for survivors or the bodies of dozens of migrants feared missing on Monday after two shipwrecks left 11 people dead.
With up to 60 migrants potentially lost at sea, the Italian coastguard said it has been looking for possible missing persons since late Sunday, following the shipwreck of a sailing boat with migrants on board, presumably departing from Turkey.
Rescue efforts began after a 'mayday' from a French pleasure boat some 120 nautical miles off the Italian coast, it said.
The French vessel alerted authorities to the presence of the half-sunken boat, before taking 12 surviving migrants on board.
They were then transferred to an Italian coastguard boat, which took them to the town of Roccella Ionica in southern Italy.
One of the surviving 12 died after disembarking, the coastguard said.
Around 50 migrants were missing following the shipwreck, according to ANSA news agency, while Radio Radicale put the number at 64, adding that those lost at sea were from Afghanistan and Iran.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it was providing psychological assistance to all survivors.
The team had supported first aid activities for 12 people, including a woman who died shortly after disembarkation due to her severe medical condition, it said.
The coastguard said the search effort was continuing on Monday with EU border agency Frontex.
- Flooded lower deck -
Further south, rescuers coming to the aid of migrants on a wooden boat off the Italian island of Lampedusa found 10 bodies, the German aid group ResQship posted on X Monday.
The boat was full of water. Our crew was able to evacuate 51 people, two of whom were unconscious -- they had to be cut free with an axe, it said.
The 10 dead are in the flooded lower deck of the boat, it added.
The survivors hailed from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt and Syria, according to ANSA, which said they had paid around $3,500 to travel in the eight-metre (26-foot) long boat.
More than 3,150 migrants died or disappeared in the Mediterranean last year, according to the UN's International Organization for Migration.
The Central Mediterranean is the deadliest known migration route in the world, accounting for 80 percent of the deaths and disappearances in the Mediterranean sea.
It is widely used by migrants fleeing conflict or poverty, who set off from Tunisia or Libya by boat in bids to enter the European Union via Italy.
In its latest mission, the SOS Mediterranee charity said it rescued 54 people including 28 unaccompanied minors travelling on an inflatable boat in Libya's search and rescue zone on Monday.
- Tough choice -
The EU recently adopted a vast reform toughening immigration control at its borders.
And since coming to power in 2022, far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has vowed to dramatically slash the number of people crossing by boat from the coast of North Africa.
Rome has brought in a slew of rules to curb the activities of charity ships accused of being a pull factor for migrants -- from limiting the number of rescues to assigning them distant ports.
Under a law adopted at the start of 2023, charity ships are obliged to travel without delay to port as soon as their first rescue is complete -- even if they become aware of other migrants in difficulty.
In recent months, the Italian coastguard has assigned increasingly distant ports to ships, sometimes in difficult weather conditions, to the detriment of vulnerable migrants' physical and mental health.
Charity crews face a tough choice: comply with the Italian authorities by leaving migrant boats adrift despite the risk that people could die, or disobey and face having their ships impounded.
Arrivals by sea to Italy have dropped considerably since the start of the year, with some 23,725 people landing so far, compared to 53,902 in the same period in 2023, according to the interior ministry.