Police in Agrigento have detained two Egyptians, suspected smugglers of the June 17 landing of 54 migrants on Lampedusa. During the crossing 10 Bengali people, who were inside the hold, died of asphyxiation, and others sustained various injuries. The boat was intercepted about 47 nautical miles south of Lampedusa by the NGO ship Nadir. Specifically, one of the two stowaways, a minor, allegedly oversaw the migrants' boarding operations, regulating their entry and exit from the boat's hold. The boy also allegedly prevented the subjects who later died from leaving the hold, including threatening them with a switchblade.
|