Italian coastguard monitors migrant boat low on fuel in Mediterranean

Thousands of migrants rescued and multiple shipwrecks reported over Easter weekend

Italian coastguard attempts a rescue operation 190km south-east of Syracuse. AFP

Italian coastguard vessels are reportedly accompanying a boat carrying migrants in the Mediterranean on Tuesday, but the boat has nearly run out of fuel and is still waiting for a rescue ship.

The situation is worrying for the passengers on board, said Alarm Phone, a hotline for migrants in distress at sea.

According to the Italian news agency Ansa, there was a growing number of boats in distress in Mediterranean and people in need of help over Easter.

Between Friday and Monday the coastguard rescued about 2,000 people, while another 1,200 are still being rescued in the Ionian Sea between Sicily and Calabria.

There were also two shipwrecks, with 38 deaths and 18 people missing.

On Easter Monday, the coastguard intervened to rescue two large boats carrying migrants — one had 800 people on board, located more than 190km south-east of Syracuse, and another had 400 people on board in the Sar area of Italy, 270km south-east of Cape Passero. Alarm Phone alerted the authorities about the second boat.

Search and rescue operations were supported by a merchant vessel and co-ordinated by the coastguard. Aerial support was also sent.

Meanwhile, Lampedusa has been overwhelmed with migrants arriving on small boats.

More than 40 boats have arrived on the island in the past three days, with nearly 2,000 passengers. Among them were survivors of a shipwreck in Maltese waters that caused at least 18 deaths.

There were also 35 victims of a shipwreck off the coast of Tunisia on Saturday, and two more bodies were recovered at sea and brought to Lampedusa by German aid group ResQship, along with 22 survivors.

The situation on the island is critical, with more than 1,800 people crammed into a facility designed for fewer than 500, according to Ansa.

The transfer of migrants from there to the port is also complicated by inadequate buses, causing delays.