Rescue boat keeps migrant plight in spotlight as Mediterranean arrivals soar

A pregnant woman reacts on board a wooden boat as they waiting for the Italian Guardia Costiera near the island of Lampedusa, in the Mediterranean Sea, September 1, 2021. REUTERS/Juan Medina

ON BOARD THE ASTRAL, OFF LAMPEDUSA (Reuters) - A wooden dinghy carrying 19 African migrants is so heavily laden it is almost taking in water over its sides in the open sea off the Italian island of Lampedusa. The two babies onboard are crying.

The dinghy, stuck in the Mediterranean with its outboard engine apparently broken, is just one of the boats helped by volunteers from the Spanish charity Proactiva Open Arms in the past days amid a surge in arrivals to Lampedusa.