Hundreds of migrants arrive on Italian island of Lampedusa

Hundreds of migrants have arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa in the past few days in dozens of small boats.

According to the Italian news agency Ansa, the Coast Guard rescued all the migrants aboard one of the boats that sank off the coast of Lampedusa.

Between midnight and Thursday morning alone, nearly 900 migrants arrived on the Italian island in 21 boats.

On Wednesday, authorities reported two migrant boats in distress. The Tunisian coastguard recovered 14 bodies and rescued 54 people between Tuesday and Wednesday after a migrant boat capsized off the coast of Sfax, authorities said on Thursday.

The refugees and migrants from Central Africa, West Africa and the Middle East were taken to the Lampedusa reception centre, which can accommodate a maximum of 300 people.

Italy's ruling coalition has put in place a series of new rules, including limits on the activities of NGOs rescuing migrants at sea.

The overcrowded migrant center on the island is struggling with over 1,800 people in it.

According to the Italian Ministry of Interior as of March 10th, over 17,592 migrants have arrived by sea in Italy compared to 5,976 in the same period in 2022.