Rome – The Italian coast guard has saved 6,500 migrants most believed to be Africans, off the Libyan coast in 40 separate rescue missions.
It said on Tuesday in Rome that during the Monday rescue, the migrant’s one of the largest influxes of refugees in a single day so far this year, were packed on board scores of boats.
It disclosed that many of the boats were flimsy rubber dinghies that become dangerously unstable in high seas.
The guard noted that the migrants were packed on board scores of boats, many of them flimsy rubber dinghies that become dangerously unstable in high seas.
It said that available data from the International Organisation for Migration said that more than 105,000 migrants had reached Italy by boat so far in 2016, many of them setting sail from Libya.
“An estimated 2,726 men, women and children have died over the same period trying to make the journey.
The coast guard said that not less than 1,100 migrants were rescued from boats in the Strait of Sicily on Sunday as they tried to reach Europe.
“More refugees were expected to set sail this week because of favourable weather conditions.
Italy has been on the front line of Europe’s migrant crisis for three years, and more than 400,000 have successfully made the voyage to Italy from North Africa since the beginning of 2014, fleeing violence and poverty. (Reuters/NAN)
