About thirty migrants were reported missing after the sinking of two boats off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa, according to the testimony of a survivor, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported this Sunday.
Some 28 passengers from one of the boats and three from a second disappeared at sea after the boats capsized due to bad weather conditions, the UN agency said. Both ships were made of metal and probably left the Tunisian city of Sfax on Thursday.
After speaking with survivors, “at least 30 people are believed to be missing,” Flavio di Giacomo, an IOM spokesman, told AFP. An investigation was opened into the incident in Agrigento, on the neighboring island of Sicily.
“The traffickers should have seen that the weather forecast was for rough seas,” said Agrigento police chief Emanuele Ricifari.
“Whoever allowed or forced them out with this sea is an unscrupulous criminal madman,” he told local press.
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