The fire broke out late Friday evening in the engine room. During the rescue operation, the coast guard sprayed water on the ferry to cool parts of the ferry that were affected by the fire.
The ferry has been declared unusable and is being towed to port with the 27-man crew on board. Almost all passengers were previously put on a coast guard boat, which sailed further towards Porto Empedocle. A small number returned to Lampedusa.
Many migrants end up on the small island of Lampedusa after making the dangerous crossing across the Mediterranean Sea. They are then transferred to reception centers elsewhere in the country.
A large recent increase in the number of migrants arriving in Lampedusa has once again put the migration issue at the top of the European agenda. Italy’s right-wing government is urgently demanding more help from the EU.
LOOK. This is Lampedusa, the haven for African migrants