more than 80 migrants rescued after fire on board ferry

The fire broke out in the engine room. Some 150 passengers, more than half of whom were migrants, were evacuated on Saturday September 30 from a burning ferry, the Italian coast guard announced. The boat connected the Italian island of Lampedusa with Porto Empedocle in southern Sicily. He had 177 people on board – 150 passengers, including 83 migrants, and 27 crew members – the coast guard said.

All the ferry passengers were able to be evacuated by boat to Sicily or Lampedusa, again according to the same source. The vessel, out of service, but still with its crew on board, must be towed to a home port.

At least 990 people were shipwrecked between June and August

A large number of migrants arrive in Lampedusa after the dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean they attempt to reach Europe, before being evacuated to other accommodation centers. After more than a week of calm linked to bad weather, arrivals of migrants by sea resumed on Friday on the Italian island.

Between June and August, at least 990 people were shipwrecked in the central Mediterranean, three times more than during the previous summer, according to a recent UNICEF count.