Hundreds of migrants arrive in Catania as Italy declares emergency

Country announces €5m funding after surge in number of boats at weekend overwhelms shelters

Italy's right-wing government has declared a state of emergency to help it cope with a surge in migrants arriving on the country's southern shores. EPA

The Italian government has declared a six month national state of emergency in response to the surge in migrant arrivals on the country's southern shores.

On Wednesday, a fishing trawler carrying approximately 700 migrants rescued 160km off the coast of Sicily arrived in Catania.

The trawler was escorted by a coastguard ship and pulled by a tug. More than 200 people rescued at sea had already landed in Catania and Messina on two other coastguard vessels.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government announced the state of emergency on Tuesday following the exceptional rise in migrant flows across the Mediterranean.

The measure will allow the government to carry out urgent extraordinary measures to reduce congestion at overwhelmed migrant shelters and to establish new structures for housing, processing and repatriating migrants who do not meet the requirements to stay in Italy.

Initial funding of €5 million (nearly $5.5 million) has been approved and a special commissioner is expected to be named.

The government has emphasised that the state of emergency will not solve the problem. "[The] solution is tied to a mindful and responsible intervention of the EU,” said Civil Protection and Maritime Policies Minister Nello Musumeci.

Italy has repeatedly called for more solidarity from EU countries, many of which have not honoured pledges to accept some of the asylum seekers.

Since the start of the year, about 31,000 migrants have disembarked in Italy, nearly four times the approximately 8,000 for the same period in each of the two previous years.

The first quarter of this year has been the deadliest for migrants crossing the central Mediterranean since 2017, the UN said, with 441 lives lost while attempting to reach Europe.

The UN's International Organization for Migration stated that delays in state-led search and rescue operations contributed to several fatal incidents during the perilous journey from North Africa, and the actual death toll is probably higher.

The stream of arrivals has overwhelmed shelters, such as the one on the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa. The facility, with a capacity of 400, was recently housing 3,000.

“We are in an emergency situation. The staff are trying to do what they can,” said Lorena Tortorici, the migrant centre director in Lampedusa.

“There are many women with small children, plus there are unaccompanied minors.”

IOM chief Antonio Vitorino expressed concern, saying: "With more than 20,000 deaths recorded on this route since 2014, I fear that these deaths have been normalized."

He urged states to respond, emphasising that "delays and gaps in state-led SAR are costing human lives." The IOM noted that delays in rescues have played a role in at least six incidents this year, resulting in the deaths of 127 people, while the absence of response in a seventh case led to the loss of at least 73 lives.

Italy has chartered commercial ferries to transfer hundreds of migrants to Sicily or the mainland.

Migrant arrivals in Italy have surged this year, with many embarking on dangerous journeys in unseaworthy vessels launched by smugglers from northern African shores.

In recent months, voyages have started from eastern Libya and Tunisia, while another route began from Turkey, aiming for Calabria or Puglia in the south of the mainland.

“It is right that the interior ministry and the institutions should have special powers to tackle and manage a complex phenomenon which is putting a strain on some southern regions,” said Calabria governor Roberto Occhiuto.

Delays in search and rescue (SAR) operations contributed to several fatal incidents during the perilous journey from North Africa, and the actual death toll is likely to be higher that official figures, said the UN's International Organisation for Migration.

“The persisting humanitarian crisis in the central Mediterranean is intolerable,” said IOM chief Antonio Vitorino. “With more than 20,000 deaths recorded on this route since 2014, I fear that these deaths have been normalised.”

Delays in search and rescue operations “are costing human lives”, he added.

Rescue delays in rescues have played a role in at least six incidents this year, resulting in 127 deaths of 127 people, the IOM said. The lack of a response in a seventh case led to at least 73 deaths.