More than 4,200 migrants were rescued by European ships this weekend, during several different operations in the Mediterranean Sea. These figures were released by the Italian and Greek coastguards. The Italian coastguard also said it had coordinated the rescue of 3,690 migrants from the Mediterranean on Saturday. Other operations in the Mediterranean took place on Sunday morning. This figure is not a record, but one of the highest figures for a single day over the last few years. As well as a French patrol, Saturday’s operations involved 4 Italian coastguard ships, 2 Italian navy ships, 2 cargo ships, 2 Italian customs ships and two tugboats.
Some of the rescued migrants were taken to the Italian island Lampedusa on Saturday, which is the closest to the African coast. Most of the others were taken to Sicily or the South of Italy on Sunday morning or evening. The Greek coastguard also rescued 530 migrants, most of who are from Syria, Somalia, and Afghanistan.
(Source: Belga)
