A newborn baby has been found dead on a boat carrying people to the Italian island of Lampedusa during a rescue operation, the Ansa news agency has reported. The baby was born during the journey and died soon after birth, Ansa reported, adding that about 40 people were onboard. Earlier this week, a five-month-old boy drowned during a rescue operation off Lampedusa after a boat carrying people across the sea from north Africa capsized. Almost 126,000 migrants have arrived in Italy this year, almost double the figure by the same date in 2022. Between Monday and Wednesday this week, about 8,500 people – more than Lampedusa’s entire permanent population – arrived on the island in 199 boats, according to figures from the UN migration agency. The influx has prompted local politicians to appeal for help. Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, called on Friday for the European Union to act jointly “with a naval mission if necessary” to prevent people crossing the Mediterranean from north Africa. In a video message posted on social media, Meloni promised strict action in response to the increase in arrivals. “The migratory pressure that Italy has been experiencing since the beginning of the year is unsustainable,” she said. The problem sprang from the “difficult international situation” in Africa, she said. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, planned to visit the island on Sunday after accepting an invitation from Meloni, an EU official said. Germany has decided to continue taking in people arriving in Italy, the country’s interior minister said on Friday, two days after it announced the suspension of a voluntary agreement with Rome to receive new arrivals. Dozens of people in Lampedusa held protests on Saturday against a plan to build a new tent camp. One protester said: “I have two children at home. In the past years, I did not care about this issue. But now I have an instinct of protection for my children because I don’t know what will happen to Lampedusa in the future.” Another said: “Lampedusa says stop. We don’t want tent camps. This message is for Europe and for the Italian government. Lampedusa residents are tired.”