A boat carrying migrants has been filmed racing towards a packed Sardinian beach in broad daylight – weeks after a teenager was seriously injured in a similar incident.
The small vessel approached the shore at Santa Margherita di Pula, Italy, at around 3 pm on Saturday (5 September) with eight people on board.
But beachgoers confronted the boatman, and the vessel turned around before speeding off towards nearby Cagliari.
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The alarming scenes came just weeks after a migrant boat struck a teenage swimmer off Su Giudeu Beach in Domus de Maria on 16 August, leaving her seriously injured, as reported by Need To Know.
One witness told local media: “Another incident like the one at Tuerredda was about to happen.”
Massimo Vargiu, local head of the SIULP police union, said: “Everything is now out of control.
“We narrowly avoided another tragedy at Santa Margherita. It’s shocking that motorboats can come right up to the shore with their engines still running.
“Clearly, there’s no proper control of our coastline. Where are the police? People on holiday or at the beach need to feel safe and protected.”
The boatman, a 28-year-old Algerian man, was later arrested.
On the same day, around 10 migrants were filmed arriving at Tuerredda Beach in Teulada.
Hundreds of locals and tourists were enjoying the sunny weather when the boat reached the busy beach.
Those on board abandoned the vessel before dispersing into nearby scrub.
Unauthorised arrivals in Sardinia have reportedly increased in recent days, with most of those arriving said to be Algerian nationals.
They are being taken to a migrant reception centre in Monastir, which is reportedly housing around twice its official capacity.
The centre has also faced a series of recent incidents.
Last Friday (4 September), an Algerian man reportedly injured himself with a scalpel after being caught stealing from offices at the facility.
Several phones stolen from swimmers have also reportedly been traced to the centre, while one resident was recently deported after allegedly groping a 13-year-old girl.
The boats reaching Sardinia depart from Algeria, which lies less than 150 nautical miles from the Italian island.
The crossing is considerably shorter than routes from Libya and takes place without NGO rescue ships, which do not operate in the Sardinian Channel.
Numbers remain relatively low compared with the central Mediterranean route.
The small boats reportedly do not usually make the entire crossing themselves.
Larger fishing vessels are said to tow them for much of the journey before releasing them near the Sardinian coast for the final leg to shore.
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