The migration incident which occured in the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday shows that Italy remains on the top of seaborne migration from Africa to Europe.
According to Italy’s coast guard statements, 945 migrants were saved in six separate rescue operations within about 30 miles (48 km) of the Libyan coast, while four were found dead below the deck of their boat. Topaz Responder rescue ship recovered the bodies and 400 survivors from the same boat Two ships of the Italy’s Navy fleet involved in rescues as well.
Furthermore, MOAS, fellow humanitarian agencies Doctors Without Borders, Germany-based Sea-Watch, and the EU rescue ship Reina Sofia took part in the operations coordinated by the coast guard in Rome.
One migrant was air-lifted by one of the Italy’s Navy helicopters as he was suffering from respiratory problems to the island of Lampedusa.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) informs that during the first six months of 2016, fewer migrants arrived on Italy compared with the same period last year. Specifically, more than 67,000 seaborne migrants arrived in Italy between Jan. 1 and July 3.
