Italy’s prime minister has said that European countries must work together “to stop departures [from Africa]” and swiftly deport those turned down for asylum, who she said “threaten the future of Europe”, after thousands of people seeking refuge arrived on Lampedusa in the last week.

Giorgia Meloni toured the tiny Sicilian island, which for years has been the first port of call for people making the treacherous journey by sea from north Africa, on Sunday morning alongside Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.

The three-hour visit, which included a stop-off at an overcrowded reception centre and a site near the port that contains the remains of flimsy boats used by migrants, came after almost 8,500 people landed within three days last week – more than the island’s population of 6,000.

The body of a baby who died shortly after being born onboard a boat carrying 40 passengers was placed in a white coffin and taken to the island’s cemetery on Saturday morning. Last week, a five-month-old boy drowned during a rescue operation.

In recent days, there were chaotic scenes at the reception centre, which has the capacity to host only 400 people, with migrants sleeping on the rubbish-strewn street outside and others trying to escape over a fence.