May 16, 2026, 11:54 amMay 16, 2026, 11:54 am
An infant has died shortly after a migrant boat arrived on the Italian Mediterranean island of Lampedusa. The child, who was just a few weeks old, suffered from severe hypothermia and died during transport to a medical facility on the small island, the Ansa news agency reported, citing local authorities.
The mother and child belonged to a group of around 55 migrants from several West African countries who were rescued from distress at sea by the Italian authorities that night. The boat had set off from the Tunisian coast, according to other migrants on board.
Lampedusa – located south of Sicily and north of the North African coast – has long been considered one of the focal points of migration from Africa across the Mediterranean to Europe. People repeatedly die on the crossing, mostly by drowning after shipwrecks.
Pope Leo XIV wants to visit Lampedusa in the summer. The head of the Catholic Church repeatedly reminds us of the fate of migrants. At the pier at the island’s harbor, where many migrant boats arrive, Leo wants, among other things, to bless a memorial plaque naming the quay after Pope Francis. Leo’s late predecessor visited the island in 2013. (sda/dpa)