Crowded Lampedusa breathes easy after government transfers migrants to Sicily

The Italian island of Lampedusa, overwhelmed by the arrival of over 6,000 aliens is finally breathing a sigh of relief after the government started sending the migrants to Sicily, according to news agency AFP.

The migrants were lined up and loaded in buses and vans, headed to the island's ports to take them to Sicily where they will be sent tomigrant processing centres.

According to the Red Cross branch of Italy, up until Friday (September 15), more than 700 transfers had already taken place while another 2,500 were expected to leave the island soon.

Earlier this week, more than 6,000 aliens crashed on the island whose total population is only 6,000. Images and videos of thousands of migrants, arriving on the island, scaling theperimeter fence and wandering around went viral on social media platforms.

Italy'sFar-Right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday said the pressure of migrants arriving in the country was "unsustainable" and called on the European Union to intervene.

"The migratory pressure that Italy has been experiencing since the beginning of the year is unsustainable," she said, adding that it sprang from the "difficult international situation" in Africa. The figure is almost double what was recorded in the same period of 2022.

WhyLampedusa?

Lampedusa, located just 90 miles (around 145 kilometres) off the eastern coast of Tunisia is Italy's first port of call for people crossing from North Africa.

Recent months have seen a great influx of migrants using Tunisia as the main departure point to enter Europe. Earlier, most migrants attempting to leave the conflict-ridden zones of Africa and the Middle East used to take the Libya route to enter the continent.

Overall, about 118,500 boat migrants have arrived in Italy since the start of the year, according to interior ministry data last updated on Tuesday morning.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE: