The Italian island of Lampedusa sees 5,000 migrants arriving in 100-plus boats in a single day
ROME (AP) — The Italian Red Cross is sounding the alarm about humanitarian conditions on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa after more than 5,000 people in more than 100 different migrant boats arrived in a day. State radio said at least one baby died near shore as a boat capsized. The island’s lone migrant welcome center, which has a capacity of around 400, overflowed with more than 6,000 people. The Red Cross on Wednesday urged the Italian government to quickly transfer the migrants to the mainland. Despite vows by Italy’s right-wing government to crack down on migrant arrivals and European Union-inked deals with Tunisia to stem the flow, the numbers of desperate people making the dangerous Mediterranean crossing keep rising.