World
At least two killed, dozens missing in shipwrecks off Italy’s coast
Italian coastguard says it has recovered two bodies and rescued 57 people after two boats sink off island of Lampedusa.
At least two people have been killed and dozens of others were missing after two shipwrecks off the Italian island of Lampedusa.
The Italian coastguard said on Sunday it had recovered two bodies and rescued 57 people following the sinkings.
Around 28 people were reported lost at sea by survivors on one boat, while three were reported missing from the second after both went down in stormy weather on Saturday, said the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Both were rickety iron boats believed to have set off from Sfax in Tunisia on Thursday.
One was carrying 48 people, the second 42, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.
Cultural mediators with the IOM believed there were “at least 30 people missing” after speaking to the survivors, press officer Flavio Di Giacomo told the AFP news agency.
An investigation into the shipwrecks has been opened in Agrigento, on the nearby Italian island of Sicily.
More than 2,000 people have arrived in Lampedusa in the last few days after being rescued at sea by Italian patrol boats and NGO groups, as strong winds further complicate the situation around the island.
Agrigento’s chief of police Emanuele Ricifari said the human traffickers putting migrants and refugees out to sea would have known rough seas were forecast.
“Whoever allowed them, or forced them, to leave with this sea is an unscrupulous criminal lunatic,” he told Italian media.
“Rough seas are forecast for the next few days. Let’s hope they stop. It’s sending them to slaughter with this sea,” he said.
Twenty trapped along rocky coastline
As the stormy weather continued, fire brigade and alpine rescue teams were preparing Sunday to pull to safety some 20 people trapped on a rocky part of Lampedusa’s coastline.
They have been there since late Friday after their boat was tossed onto the rocks by strong winds.
They have been provided with food, water, clothes and emergency thermal blankets by the Red Cross, but the coastguard has been unable to rescue them by sea due to the high waves.
Should the winds not drop, rescuers could begin winching them up the 140-metre (460-foot) high cliff to safety, according to media reports.
The Central Mediterranean crossing from North Africa to Europe is the world’s deadliest.
Over 1,800 people have died attempting it so far this year; Di Giacomo said – almost 900 more than last year.
“The truth is that figure is likely to be much higher. Lots of bodies are being found at sea, suggesting there are many shipwrecks we never hear about,” he said.
The number of bodies found has increased, particularly on the so-called Tunisian route, which has become increasingly dangerous, Di Giacomo said, because of the type of boats used.
Migrants and refugees are being put out to sea by traffickers “in iron boats which cost less than the usual wooden ones, but are utterly unseaworthy, they easily break up and sink”, he said.
Migrants also often have the engines stolen from their boats at sea, so that traffickers can reuse them.
The extreme heatwave in Mexico is not only affecting the environment, it’s wreaking havoc on the howler monkeys and causing them to fall dead out of trees, the Associated Press reported.
“They were falling out of the trees like apples. They were in a state of severe dehydration, and they died within a matter of minutes,” wildlife biologist Gilberto Pozo described what he witnessed to the AP.
In the city of Tecolutilla, Tabasco state, it was reported that the dead monkeys started appearing on Friday, when a local volunteer fire-and-rescue squad showed up with five of the monkeys in the bed of the truck.
So far, at least 83 howler monkeys have been found dead in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco. However, many others were rescued by local residents, with five being rushed to a local veterinarian for immediate care.
NEVADA WILDLIFE MYSTERY SOLVED, SUSPECTED WOLVES WERE ACTUALLY COYOTES
A veterinarian feeds a young howler monkey rescued amid extremely high temperatures in Tecolutilla, Tabasco state, Mexico, Tuesday. Dozens of howler monkeys were found dead in the Gulf coast state while others were rescued by residents who rushed them to a local veterinarian. (AP Photo/Luis Sanchez)
“They arrived in critical condition, with dehydration and fever,” Dr. Sergio Valenzuela told the AP. “They were as limp as rags. It was heatstroke.”
At least nine cities in Mexico have set temperature records as of May 9, with Ciudad Victoria, in the border state of Tamaulipas, registering 117 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the AP. The heatwave has been blamed on the deaths of at least 26 people since March, the AP reported.
Valenzuela said that the monkeys appeared to be on the mend, stating that they were “recovering, aggressive, and biting again.”
The howler monkey, which is the “loudest of all the monkeys,” is known for its loud whooping bark or roar, according to National Geographic.
Pozo added that many local residents wanted to help the monkeys, even adopt them, but he cautioned them on this.
WILD MONKEYS SPOTTED ROAMING FLORIDA NEIGHBORHOODS: ‘ABSOLUTELY CRAZY’
Howler monkeys sit in a cage at a veterinarian’s clinic after they were rescued amid extremely high temperatures in Tecolutilla, Tabasco state, Mexico, on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Luis Sanchez)
“The truth is that babies are very delicate, they can’t be in a house where there are dogs or cats, because they have pathogens that can potentially be fatal for howler monkeys,” Ponzo described, stressing they must be rehabilitated and released into the wild.
Pozo’s group has set up a special recovery stations for the monkeys and is working to organize a team of specialized veterinarians to give the monkeys the care they need.
Howler monkeys also get almost all the water they need from the food they eat, which is another reason the heatwave has been detrimental to their survival.
Pozo stated that several factors led to the death of the monkeys, including high heat, drought, and forest fires.
THAI WILDLIFE OFFICIALS TO REMOVE HUNDREDS OF MONKEYS FROM POPULAR TOURIST SPOT
A howler monkey sits inside a cage with others at a veterinarian clinic after they were rescued amid extremely high temperatures in Tecolutilla, Tabasco state, Mexico, on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Luis Sanchez)
Days after the monkeys began to drop dead, Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador acknowledged the issue, saying he had heard about it on social media.
He then congratulated Valenzuela on his efforts and said the government would seek to support the work.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,
Spain and Ireland are also expected to recognise Palestine despite Israel’s warnings of the consequences.
Norway will recognise Palestine as a state, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere says.
A two-state solution is in Israel’s best interest, he announces, adding that the recognition will come as of May 28.
“There cannot be peace in the Middle East if there is no recognition.”
Norway announcement comes as Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is set to announce later on Wednesday a date for formally recognising Palestinian statehood.
Ireland is also expected to announce its plans for the recognition of Palestine.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz has ordered Israel’s ambassadors from Ireland and Norway to immediately return to Israel.
“Ireland and Norway intend to send a message today to the Palestinians and the whole world: terrorism pays,” Katz said.
Israel has said that recognition from the European nations will “fuel extremism and instability” and make them a “pawn in the hands of Hamas”.
More to come …
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