One coastguard vessel brought 584 people to the city of Reggio
Calabria, while another escorted a packed fishing boat carrying 487
migrants into the port of Crotone, close to the scene of a Feb. 26
shipwreck that killed at least 74 people.
Local officials said a further 200 migrants had been picked up off
the coast of Sicily and would be ferried to Catania later in the
day.
More than 4,000 people have reached Italy since Wednesday, compared
to around 1,300 for the whole of March last year, as the country's
conservative government struggles to contain the influx, despite
repeated promises to stem the flow.
The coastguard dispatched eight boats on Friday to various rescue
operations, while a naval patrol boat was also called in to prevent
any repeat of last month's disaster, when a migrant ship broke apart
a stone's throw from the Calabrian coast.
The body of a young girl was recovered on Saturday, bringing the
death toll to 74. Seventy-nine people survived the shipwreck, but
around 30 are still missing, presumed dead.
Prosecutors are investigating whether Italian authorities should
have done more to prevent the disaster. Prime Minister Giorgia
Meloni has rejected the suggestion and looked to pin the blame
entirely on human traffickers.
Her cabinet on Thursday introduced tougher jail terms for people
smugglers and promised to open up more channels for legal migration.
Late last year, it cracked down on charity rescue boats, accusing
them of acting as a taxi service for migrants.
The measure has led to a sharp reduction in the number of rescue
ships patrolling off North Africa, where the majority of the
migrants set sail.
However, departures have nonetheless picked up dramatically, with
roughly 17,000 migrants reaching Italy by boat so far this year
against some 6,000 in the same period of 2022.
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Mark Potter)
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