In what has become the biggest rescue operation this year, almost 5,800 migrants were picked up from the waters of the Mediterranean over a 48 hour period, Italy’s coastguard said. At least 10 people died as thousands attempted to cross from Libya.
The massive search
operation involved three separate rescue missions, Italy’s coast
guard said. In one rescue, an Italian Coast Guard helicopter
helped to save dozens of migrants aboard a deflating dinghy. One
recovery operation saved 311 people, including 16 children, from
a fishing boat.
READ MORE: Over 800 migrants dead in Libya
shipwreck disaster – UN
A tug, a merchant ship, and a cargo vessel all aided parts of the
rescue effort. In one rescue a cargo ship found a dinghy in the
waters north of Tripoli containing three dead migrants and 105
survivors. Seven further bodies were found on two large rubber
boats packed with migrants.
Those rescued were taken to the islands of Lampedusa and Trapani,
Sicily.
The record rescue operation comes two weeks after the worst
shipwreck this year, which claimed the lives of nearly 900
refugees trying to reach Europe.
Meanwhile a Libyan news agency reported that authorities detained
500 migrants in five boats off Tripoli. Another 480 migrants,
some from Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia, were caught in
the central town of Jufra as they prepared for their crossing.
Another 170 were detained nearby.
An estimated 50,000 refugees have entered Europe by sea this
year, with some 30,000 coming via Italy. The latest UN figures
claim that around 1,800 people have drowned this year crossing to
Europe from Libya.
READ MORE: No place for asylum seekers: EU
reportedly plans to kick out 29 of every 30 refugees
Italy has on numerous occasions said that it barely has enough
resources to deal with the migrant influx from Libya. The
situation is becoming an EU-wide concern, with Brussels facing
mounting pressure from human rights groups over its tackling of
the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean.
Meanwhile the leader of France’s National Front, Marine Le Pen,
was quoted on Sunday as saying that France should send migrants
back so “traffickers know that no migrant will come ashore on
our coasts.” Le Pen’s comments came after a French patrol
boat on Saturday rescued 217 migrants from three rubber dinghies.