Ship abandoned by crew and filled with migrants towed to Italy

(Image credit: Twitter.com/Channel4News)

last updated 10 January 2015

A Sierra Leone-flagged ship carrying as many as 450 migrants is being towed toward the southern Italian coast after it was abandoned by its crew. The Ezadeen is the second vessel in four days to be deserted by its crew in rough seas.

Both times, Italian authorities had to respond in order to prevent loss of life, The Guardian reports. The Ezadeen was without power and about 40 nautical miles from the coast when it was discovered, and many of the migrants on board are thought to be Syrians. In the past 14 months, Italian rescuers have saved more than 170,000 migrants from the water, while hundreds and possibly thousands have died.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, is closely monitoring the situation, with a spokesperson telling AFP, "The rescues of the Blue Sky M two days ago and of the Ezadeen show that smugglers are finding new ways to enter EU territory. To prevent such events and to protect the lives of migrants, fighting smuggling will continue to be a priority under the commission's agenda for comprehensive migration in 2015."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Speed Reads Us News

To continue reading this article...

Create a free account

Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.

Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.

Cancel or pause at any time.

Already a subscriber to The Week?

Unlimited website access is included with Digital and Print + Digital subscriptions.
with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.

Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox