350 Migrants Rescued Off Coast Of Sicily

More than 350 migrants, with 40 minors among them, were rescued overnight by the Italian Coast Guard ship "Dattilo", during an operation 70 miles from the Sicilian coast, a search and rescue area controlled by Italian authorities.

According to a coast guard statement, the fishing vessel with more than 350 migrants aboard was endangered by bad weather conditions, prompting the Italian National Operative Centre to send the "Dattilo", along with several patrol boats, to rescue the people aboard.

The rescue operation also involved an ATR42 airplane of the Italian Coast Guard, a Frontex airplane and four mercantile ships that help mitigate the wind impact and facilitate a safe rescue of all migrants.

The statement described the rescue of the larger number of migrants as “complex."

Each year, thousands of migrants and refugees from Africa, the Middle East and South Asia attempt the deadly Mediterranean sea crossing to Europe on overcrowded and often unseaworthy boats.

More than 1,300 men, women and children have died so far in 2021 trying to cross the Central Mediterranean from Libya and Tunisia to Italy and Malta according to IOM.