Migrants Jump off Rescue Boat to Try to Reach Italian Island
Frustrated by Italy’s interior minister in their quest to set foot in Europe, several migrants jumped into the sea from a Spanish rescue boat that has been blocked for days from docking at an Italian island in a thwarted bid Sunday to reach land on their own. “We have been warning for days, desperation has its limits,” said Open Arms founder Oscar Camps, who released a video showing four migrants, in orange life vests, swimming toward Lampedusa island, while several crew members from the humanitarian group’s ship swam quickly to catch up with them and bring them back aboard. FILE – Migrants are evacuated by Italian Coast guards from the Open Arms Spanish humanitarian boat at the coasts of the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, southern Italy, Aug. 17, 2019. For days, Open Arms, which on Sunday had 107 migrants aboard, has been anchored off Lampedusa, a fishing and vacation island between Sicily and northern Africa. The boat initially had 147 migrants aboard when it reached Italian waters. In the last few days, 40 migrants have transferred by Italian coast guard vessels to Lampedusa, including a few who were ailing and 27 who said they were minors. Right-wing …