Team Lampedusa will be active as IG9Y from Lampedusa Island, Italy, starting October 17 and through the CQ World Wide SSB.

“We would like to thank the amateur community and the sponsors for your generous support, and look forward to putting you in our log,” said Team Lampedusa’s Dale Long, N3BNA, on behalf of the group. The international contingent of operators will include HA1YA, JH5GHM, LZ1QN, N3BNA, PC5A, PE1ITR, S5ØX, S52RU, S57UN, S57DX, S59A, RCØF, RT4RO, and VE3LA.

Lampedusa has been in the news recently as the site of the tragic fire aboard a ship that subsequently sank October 3 while carrying immigrants from North Africa to Europe. More than 350 people died when the vessel went down some 2500 feet from shore.

Team Lampedusa has set up a PayPal account where individuals and groups can donate to address needs resulting from the tragedy. “We will do what we can,” the group’s statement said. “We hope that the amateur community will show its concern.”

All gifts will be acknowledged, and the group says 100 percent of donations will go to charity. Located between Malta and Tunisia, Lampedusa is Italy’s southernmost island and is geographically part of the African continent.