Sinkings off Lampedusa

And speaking of Capsizings Video at http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/Miami-Dade-Fire-Rescue-Boats-Docked-During-Columbus-Day-Weekend-Celebrations-227598441.html

30 Rescued by Coast Guard and FWC After Catamaran Capsizes Near Miami Seaquarium. The catamaran capsized during Columbus Day boating festivities in Biscayne Bay.
By Claudia DoCampo and Alexandra Leon | Monday, Oct 14, 2013 | Updated 6:30 AM EDTView Comments () | Email | Print


30 people and a dog had to be rescued after a boat capsized near the Miami Seaquarium. The Coast Guard's Michael Cortes and FWC's Jorge Pino comment.

Authorities rescued 30 people and a dog after a catamaran capsized near the Miami Seaquarium on Sunday.

Multiple first response agencies and Good Samaritans helped rescue the people after the 45-foot catamaran capsized. There were no reports of deaths or serious injuries, authorities said.

Man Who Jumped From Train for Phone Has Died
Those rescued were taken to the Four Ambassadors Suites Hotel on Southwest 8th Street and Brickell Avenue where Miami Fire was setting up a triage, The U.S. Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard got a report of a capsized vessel around 5:30 p.m. It was partially submerged in six to eight feet of water and was also partially exposed. Boaters in the area were asked to be careful.

"When I arrived on scene there was 2 to 3 foot of the vessel still above the water line and immediately I was grabbing people out of the water," said Lieutenant Michael Cortes, the commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard's Miami Beach post.

FWC was investigating the cause of the capsizing. Authorities believe the vessel was taking people from Brickell Key to Nixon Beach and it capsized on the return trip.

"There's some speculation that the captain of the vessel was charging people 20 dollars to transport them back and forth from Nixon beach. If that's the case he will face some other charges," Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Jorge Pino said.

Authorities had initially said there were 32 people rescued.

In addition to Coast Guard, Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue, Sea Tow Miami and the FWC were among the agencies who assisted in the rescue.

Meanwhile, due to budget cuts and staffing shortages, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue boats were docked this year during the Columbus Day weekend celebrations in Key Biscayne.

While Fire Rescue was available for on-land assistance, the FWC took care of patrolling the waters for injuries and officials said they were more watchful than ever.

 

Stephen D, That is a noble idea and you are to be commended for caring about such stuff. The others guys have shot down the notion pretty convincingly, but it is nonetheless a humanitarian thought. Thank you.

 

This thread is mostly a political one.
Teaching stability to man-smugglers is somewhat like a weapons donation to Somalia.
None of both will solve the source of the 'problem'.

One problem is this 'we-keep-them-out' thinking. Let them come in and let them find out if they can contribute to their new home place. If they cannot, they will simply starve at a different place.
The USA did it once, and got Einstein, von Braun, Levi Strauss, and so on. For the ones who did not make it, there was always a small spot for a grave. Abandoned salt mines or power plants would serve well here.

It will also not help to send personnel: there is a double cultural barrier.
The second one is attitude.
Basically, the suggestion was a nice concept of getting a free travel ticket, but it would not move anything.

 

Yes, it is a noble idea indeed. You are a good person, Stephen.

However, this thought:

is unfortunately disconnected from the reality of these voyages.

The boats used for the transport of refugees across the Med and towards the Italy or the Spain are mostly disposable relics, usually fishing boats which have arrived to the end of their useful life. The biggest possible number of desperate persons is embarked in some port in north Africa, their money or anything that can have some material value has been taken away by the organizers of the trip. So what is embarked on board are just humans beings, which means - nothing of value. One or two passengers are instructed before the departure how to point the boat in the right direction and where to look on the compass. Nobody knows anything about engines, so if it stops in the middle of the voyage (as it often does), only a hope remains to defend the vessel against the waves.
Once the boat has left the port of origin, the profiteers don't give a damn about what will happen to the boat or to the passengers. Nobody is going to get back anyways, whether it ends up well or with a sinking. The only assets which are taken care of are the young girls destined to the business of sexual slavery. They will end up working as prostitutes on the streets or locked in private apartments, and will be money-makers for their exploiters. So they don't travel in this way and will always arrive to the destination.

If you tried to go there and start telling those people to not embark boats which are overloaded, unsafe or in bad shape, you would probably pretty soon receive either a knife in the back or a bullet in the head. That's how the technical issues and obstacles are sorted out in certain ambients, and in certain parts of the world.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/10375358/True-scale-of-European-immigration.html