ANCONA Another landing, and the emergency continues. The port of Ancona has been identified – for the third time since March – as the final destination for the Geo Barents, which in the last few hours has carried out a double rescue off the coast of Libya. First 13 castaways were recovered, then another 21 who were on board two fiberglass boats, engaged in a journey of hope towards Italy. Among the 34 migrants who left Libya there are 6 minors, at least according to the initial information provided by the Doctors Without Borders search and rescue ship.
The assignment
Upon receiving the report, the Ministry of the Interior assigned the port of Ancona to Geo Barents. The NGO vessel should arrive between Monday and Tuesday of next week: much will depend on the weather conditions. The castaways are tired and worn out, but no health emergencies have been reported. A meeting coordinated by the Prefecture will be held this morning to define the operational strategies, which will be the usual ones. Unless there are any changes to the program, disembarkation will take place at dock 19, while identification procedures should be carried out at the Paolinelli sports center, in Baraccola.
“No indications have yet arrived from Rome regarding the destination of the 34 migrants” explains councilor Giovanni Zinni. It will be necessary to carry out a reconnaissance of the structures of the capital and the Marche to verify how many emergency accommodations are available. Unaccompanied minors will in any case remain in Ancona, adults may be relocated outside the region. This is the third landing of 2024 after the two carried out by Ocean Viking – on 1 June with 67 migrants and on 18 March with 336 – and the 10th since January 2023. With this latest rescue, the ceiling of 1000 castaways disembarked will be exceeded in Ancona. «Why do these NGO ships carry out their service in the Mediterranean without the European Union addressing the issue of the placement of migrants? – asks Zinni -. What will they do? Will they stay in Italy? Who will integrate them? I hope that the result of the European elections will provide innovative solutions to the problem and ensure fair distribution within the EU. We need to implement the Mattei Plan for Africa to bring stability and civilization and prevent these countless landings, which are starting to become too many.”
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