18 illegal immigrants died on the way to Italy

On August 24, the Italian Navy discovered the bodies of 18 illegal immigrants on a small boat drifting in the waters south of the island of Lampedusa.

Migrants rescued at sea by the Italian navy. (Source: AFP/TTXVN)

Italian media reported that naval forces approached the ship and discovered 73 survivors and 18 dead.

Thus, since August 21, the Italian Navy, coast guard and merchant fleet have rescued more than 3,500 illegal immigrants in the Mediterranean Sea between the Italian island of Sicily and the coasts of Libya and Tunisia.

Italy has long been considered the top destination for illegal immigrants trying to enter Europe. Most immigrants come to Italy from Eritrea, Somalia, Syria... They often travel on shabby sea vessels.

After two shipwrecks carrying illegal immigrants that killed more than 400 people last October, Italy launched a large-scale operation called "Mare Nostrum" to stem the flow of people into the country, but to no avail.

According to statistics from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), since the beginning of the year, more than 100,000 illegal immigrants have landed in Italy, much higher than the record number of 60,000 people in 2011, when the migration wave peaked due to the chaos related to the "Arab Spring" event.

Figures released at the end of July also showed that about 93,000 migrants had been rescued since the beginning of this year./.

According to VNA