Rome – Italian authorities said on Friday in Rome that a baby was delivered aboard an Italian navy ship [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]as 800 migrants were being rescued from the central Mediterranean.
The Naval authorities noted that during the rescue operations, a Somali woman, assisted by the medical staff of the Marina Militare, gave birth on the Libra vessel to a baby boy who was named Hamed Idiris [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]Ibrahim.
It said the baby and his mother were in good health.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]
The Naval authorities confirmed that the Libra patrol vessel of the Marina Militare picked up 286 people from two ships in distress off the Libyan coast.
It added that another 204 migrants on board were previously rescued by the Italian coast guard.
The coast guard said it picked up on Friday another 237 migrants, including six women and six children, and another 51 on Thursday, who were rescued first by a passing merchant ship and then handed over to Italian authorities.
It said majority of migrants heading for Europe by boat from Africa and the Middle East set off from
[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”8″]Libya, and after landing in Italy, many of them dispersed to northern Europe.
The Italian navy was patrolling the Mediterranean as part of Triton agreement.
Triton agreement was a mission run by the European Union’s border control agency Frontex, which took over from Mare Nostrum, an Italy-only operation phased out in late 2014. (dpa/NAN)