Nearly 800 migrants rescued in Mediterranean
Nearly 800 people have been rescued from boats in distress in the Mediterranean Sea in the last 48 hours, Italian and Libyan officials said.
The Italian coastguard said on Saturday that it rescued at least 520 people from five boats in Libyan waters late on Thursday, in response to distress signals from the boats headed towards Sicily.
An additional 171 people were also rescued during the overnight mission in the waters north of Tripoli.
The Italian navy’s response comes a day after Libya’s navy announced it rescued 105 migrants from a boat that broke down off the coast of Garabulli, 50km east of the capital.
This brings the total number of reported rescues over the weekend to 796 people. There were no details on their nationalities.
Greek port authorities also said that they rescued 16 people when a boat carrying mostly Syrian refugees capsized off Mytilene.
marine insight
Over 800 Seaborne Migrants Saved In Italy, Northern Cyprus
„Italy’s coastguard said it has rescued more than 600 migrants in the Mediterranean Sea between Sicily and North Africa this weekend and started a search for one man feared drowned during the passage.
Further east, 270 Syrian refugees were rescued off Turkish-Cypriot controlled northern Cyprus overnight when their ship’s engine broke down, the Kibris Postasi website in Nicosia reported.
The Italian coastguard said it picked up 520 migrants in the Strait of Sicily between Thursday night and Friday, before heading to a point 60 miles north of the Libyan capital Tripoli to assist a merchant ship that had picked up 93 migrants.
A ship carrying a Singaporean flag picked up a further 78 migrants, the coast guard said. It was not immediately clear where these migrants came from.
The ship carrying Syrian refugees was drifting for several hours before it was towed to northern Cyprus and the refugees, including 30 children, were brought to an indoor sports stadium, Kibris Postasi reported.
It was thought to have sailed from the Turkish port of Mersin and the website quoted a transport official saying the migrants would be sent back there. Turkish officials had no immediate comment . […]“ (Reporting by Isla Binnie in Rome, Michele Kambas in Nicosia and Jonny Hogg in Ankara.; Editing by Tom Heneghan; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
Copyright 2014 Thomson Reuters
Casi 800 migrantes rescatados en el Mediterráneo en tres días
Por Redacción / Sinembargo
Roma, 23 nov (dpa) – Cerca de 800 migrantes fueron rescatados entre el jueves y el sábado en aguas de Mediterráneo, informaron hoy las autoridades italianas. La Guardia Costera italiana interceptó el jueves y el viernes a 520 personas en cinco embarcaciones que se encontraban en aguas en las que Libia tiene la responsabilidad de llevar a cabo tareas de búsqueda y rescate. Más tarde los equipos italianos recogieron a otras 78 personas que había sido rescatadas por un barco mercante. Según la prensa italiana los migrantes procedían de Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, Burundi, Senegal y Sudán y ellos había seis mujeres embarazadas y dos niños. Fueron trasladados a última hora del sábado al puerto siciliano Porto Empedocle. Otro barco mercante rescató a 93 migrantes que se encontraban en una lancha neumática a 110 kilómetros al norte de la capital libia, Trípoli. Los rescatados fueron trasladados a Augusta, un puerto situado al este de Sicilia. Por su parte, el Ejército italiano intervino el sábado para rescatar a 98 migrantes que viajaban a bordo de otra lancha neumática. Entre ellos había nueve niños.
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