The small Italian island of Lampedusa, one of the most important first stops on the Mediterranean migration route, is facing an unprecedented migration crisis.
About 7,000 people have disembarked on the island in the past two days, prompting local and international authorities to warn of congestion.
The island’s mayor, Filippo Mannino, expressed concern about the situation, stating that the migration crisis had reached a point of no return. In an interview with Italian radio RTL 102.5, he made clear the extent of the problem: “In the last 48 hours, around 7,000 people have arrived on my island, an island that has always welcomed and rescued in its arms.” We are now on “We have reached a point of no return, where the role played by this small rock in the middle of the Mediterranean is in crisis due to the dramatic nature of this phenomenon.”
The Italian Ministry of the Interior confirms the data.
Chiara Cardoletti, representative of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) for Italy, also commented on the situation. She said the situation on Lampedusa was critical and that evacuating people from the island was an absolute priority.
According to Cardoletti, around 5,000 people have already been removed from the island by the authorities in the last 28 hours.