Mediterranean Sea: Lampedusa

Lampedusa: It was one of the deadliest recent accidents in the perilous Mediterranean Sea crossing that thousands of African migrants make every year, seeking a new life in the European Union. Smugglers charge thousands of dollars a head to slip people into Europe aboard overcrowded, barely seaworthy fishing boats, providing no life vests or other safety features, according to The Star. It's an immense tragedy, said Lampedusa Mayor Giusi Nicolini and ROME A ship carrying African migrants to Europe caught fire and capsized Thursday off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, killing at least 114 people as hundreds were dumped into the sea, officials said. Over 150 people were rescued but about the same number were still unaccounted for. We need only caskets, certainly not ambulances, Pietro Bartolo, chief of health services on Lampedusa, told Radio 24. He gave the death toll at 94 but said it would certainly rise as search operations continued. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.