Operations intensify to rescue 'biggest wave' of Mediterranean migrants
- 9 years ago
Thousands more migrants rescued from the Mediterranean have continued to arrive in Italian ports.
Over 450 were taken to Augusta in Sicily on board the Fenice, an Italian navy warship.
Most are reportedly from Eritrea, one of the world’s most secretive countries, where alleged human rights abuses have sparked a refugee exodus.
Also on board were the bodies of 17 migrants recovered from one of the boats off the Libyan coast.
Italian media reports say they probably didn’t drown but were trampled to death in the rush for places on the overcrowded vessels.
European authorities said more than 5,000 migrants had been saved from boats in distress since Friday, and operations were underway to rescue hundreds more.
In some of the most intense operations of the year, migrants who left Libya in 25 boats were picked up by ships from Italy, Britain, Malta and Belgium, assisted by planes from Iceland and Finland, the EU’s border control agency Frontex said.
Naval and merchant vessels i
Over 450 were taken to Augusta in Sicily on board the Fenice, an Italian navy warship.
Most are reportedly from Eritrea, one of the world’s most secretive countries, where alleged human rights abuses have sparked a refugee exodus.
Also on board were the bodies of 17 migrants recovered from one of the boats off the Libyan coast.
Italian media reports say they probably didn’t drown but were trampled to death in the rush for places on the overcrowded vessels.
European authorities said more than 5,000 migrants had been saved from boats in distress since Friday, and operations were underway to rescue hundreds more.
In some of the most intense operations of the year, migrants who left Libya in 25 boats were picked up by ships from Italy, Britain, Malta and Belgium, assisted by planes from Iceland and Finland, the EU’s border control agency Frontex said.
Naval and merchant vessels i