Migration tragedy

Betty Henderson NINE people, including a pregnant woman and a fourmonth­old baby were found dead after a small boat crossing from Tunisia to Europe lost its way. Around 50 survivors reached the Italian island of Lampedusa on Thursday, February 3 after being rescued.

Survivors said the tragic events unfolded in the central Mediterranean when the six­metre long boat became lost after leaving the Tunisian city of Sfax on the previous Saturday. Migrants began to suffer from hy ­ pothermia, including the baby’s mother who died from exposure and hunger before the baby slipped out of her arms.

THE Vatican dismissed two nuns on Monday, February 6, after they refused to leave the Santa Chiara monastery in Ravello on the Italian Amalfi coast. The sisters nicknamed ‘the rebel nuns’ were relieved of their duties in a letter signed by Pope Francis.

Massimiliana Panza and Angela Maria Punnackal were expelled by the Vatican after they flouted a request from the church to leave the 13th century monastery. The women were the sole residents of Ravello’s clifftop monastery for the last decade along with a 97­year­old sister,

A Tunisian fishing boat reported sighting a boat in distress to the Maltese Search and Rescue who assisted in bringing the surviving passengers to Lampedusa. Many were found to be suffering from hypothermia and extreme hunger.

The island’s mayor, Filippo Mannino appealed to the Prime Minister in the wake of the tragedy and the arrival of other boats in recent weeks saying, “Help, we cannot handle this much longer.” More than 5,000 migrants have arrived in Italy since the start of 2023.