The tiny European island under pressure where 11,000 migrants arrived in 4 days

Italy: Migrants rescued from rough seas off Lampedusa

Lampedusa, which has borne the brunt of the European migration crisis for years, is at breaking point, according to migration experts.

More than 11,000 migrants arrived on the tiny island between September 12 and 15 this month, as thousands pour in per day.

Lampedusa had seen a quell in arrivals due to strong winds over the past week.

However, Italian authorities are braced for a new surge in migrant arrivals, beginning today, according to GB News’ Home and Security Editor Mark White.

It is thought that calmer weather could bring a new surge of migrants, as arrivals far outpace the island’s infrastructure.

Just this morning, three tiny migrant boats were spotted in the waters of the island’s coast.

An Italian police patrol boat escorted a nine-metre-long migrant vessel with 38 men, all from Bangladesh, onboard.

Another boat arrived carrying 34 Syrian nationals as well as a Sudanese national.

A third migrant boat made it to Lampedusa, carrying 17 Tunisians.

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All migrants were swiftly transferred to the main migrant camp on the island, which had cleared the last of its migrants on Tuesday evening, in anticipation of a new wave of arrivals.

Previously, overcrowding in the camp, known as the ‘hotspot,’ has sparked tensions between migrants and police.

During the last wave in September, local police clashed with migrants after they tried to scale the camp’s perimeter fences in an attempt to flee.

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The European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited the island earlier this month.

Ms Meloni said Italy was being placed under “unsustainable pressure” while Ms von der Leyen acknowledged that the issue was “a European challenge and needs a European answer”.

On Friday, a delegation of MEPs arrived on a fact-finding visit as the EU grapples with a way to manage the migrant crisis which has seen record numbers arriving in the EU this year.

Meanwhile, the leaders of nine Mediterranean and southern European countries met Friday in Malta with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for talks focused on migration.

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