An Ivorian baby just one month old died of hypothermia after a boat carrying 55 African migrants was rescued off the coast of Lampedusa, in southern Italy. The news, reported by Vatican News, has once again brought attention to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Mediterranean and to the political debate surrounding European migration policies.
The vessel was intercepted by an Italian Guardia di Finanza patrol boat when it was on the verge of sinking. On board were migrants from Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. After being escorted to the Favarolo pier, reception operations coordinated by the Italian Red Cross began.
The baby stopped breathing during the transfer to the island’s hospital. Although doctors attempted to resuscitate her, her death from hypothermia was ultimately confirmed. The Agrigento Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation and ordered an autopsy to clarify the exact circumstances of her death.
The mother and sister of the infant survived and remain in the Lampedusa migrant center, where they are receiving psychological support. Italian authorities are now trying to reconstruct the journey and determine when the child’s health began to deteriorate.
Migrants showing signs of violence
During the medical screening carried out after disembarkation, doctors also detected injuries consistent with torture in at least four of the rescued migrants. According to Francesco D’Arca, chief medical officer at Lampedusa’s hospital, several individuals presented visible wounds on their arms and backs.
The injuries could have occurred either in their countries of origin or during the migration journey, where networks of human trafficking operate and control much of the clandestine routes to Europe.
The Central Mediterranean continues to be one of the main routes of irregular migration to European territory. According to data cited by Vatican News, since 2014 more than 34,800 people have died or disappeared while attempting to reach Europe by sea. Only in the first months of 2026, the number of victims has already exceeded 1,200.
Save the Children calls for more legal pathways
Following the death of the baby, the organization Save the Children blamed European border policies for tragedies such as the one off Lampedusa. Giorgia D’Errico, director of international relations of the NGO, stated that “when a newborn dies, it is not a fatality, but the failure of policies that place borders ahead of life”.
The organization once again called for expanding legal and safe pathways to Europe, strengthening search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean, and facilitating the work of NGOs involved in maritime rescues.
Lampedusa, a symbol of the migration crisis
On the upcoming July 4, Leo XIV will visit the island as part of his visits to Italian territory, following in the footsteps of Pope Francis’s historic 2013 visit.
In recent years, Lampedusa has become one of the main symbols of the Mediterranean migration crisis and a regular stage for the debate on European immigration policies.
Alongside calls to strengthen rescues and expand legal pathways, the debate on the so-called “pull effect” continues, an issue that has been present for years in various European countries in response to the increase of irregular arrivals and the role that certain political, media, or institutional messages may play in relation to migration routes to Europe.