ROME – A total of four of the 30 migrants aiming for Sicily who jumped into the sea after seeing a Royal Navy Vessel arrive have drowned, coastal authorities said on Tuesday.

 After receiving the positive news on Monday that the 450 migrants who arrived in Sicily over the weekend would be accepted by several European countries, another tragedy for those stranded at sea has emerged. Four of the 30 migrants who jumped from their boats into the sea off the coast of Linosa, an island near Sicily, have drowned. This took place after they saw the arrival of the British Royal Navy ship HMC Protector and Italian Finance Guard vessel.

 Family members and friends of the victims confirmed the tragedy to the mobile operational team from the Sicilian city of Ragusa. Following this incident, the power of attorney in Ragusa will charge the commander and the other 10 members of the team in charge of the immigrants with homicide as a result of another crime.

 From the reports that Somalian migrants have given to investigators it has now emerged that during the journey another group of people decided to enter the water in an attempt to swim to an Italian naval unit they had glimpsed, again near Linosa. This incident took place the past July 13 and 34 of the migrants were saved by two motor patrols and an Italian Finance Guard Vessel. Three people from Somalia have stated that they lost track of four of their family members who had undertaken the swim, and a search to identify the migrants recovered in hospital is currently underway.

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