Another 900 migrants have been rescued from stricken boats off Libya, Italy's coastguard said Wednesday, three days before the end of what is already a record year for arrivals at the country's southern ports.
Some 1,800 migrants were rescued from waters off Libya on Monday, lifting the total picked up to 8,300 over five days, according
to the Italian coastguard which coordinated the operations.
The Italian coastguard said the bodies of five migrants were recovered from the Mediterranean on Sunday, while more than 6,500
people had been rescued off Libya since Thursday.
More than 4,500 migrants were rescued from the Mediterranean Tuesday on in 30 separate operations in the Strait of Sicily, said Italy's coastguard, which coordinated the missions.
A total of 3,324 migrants were rescued off Libya on Sunday in 26 different operations, the Italian coastguard said, bringing to more than 10,000 the total saved since Thursday.
More than 2,500 migrants seeking to reach
Europe were rescued off the coast of Sicily over the weekend in 20 separate
operations, the Italian coastguard said on Sunday.
Around 2,000 migrants were plucked to safety off the coast of Libya in the latest series of rescue operations in the Mediterranean on Thursday, the Italian coastguard said.
Another 3,000 migrants were rescued from stricken boats in waters off Libya on Tuesday, the Italian coastguard said,
lifting the total saved in the space of 48 hours to 5,600.
Around 2,000 migrants seeking to reach Europe were plucked to safety from unseaworthy boats in the Mediterranean in 15 operations off the coast of Libya on Monday, the Italian coastguard service said.
Italy's coastguard said on Tuesday it had rescued some 4,000 migrants in the past two days, adding to fears of a fresh push to reach Europe via that route as the number of migrants landing in Greece sharply recedes.
Around 4,000 migrants and refugees were saved from waters between Italy and North Africa over the course of the Christmas weekend, with further rescue operations expected in the final days of an "exceptional" year, officials said on Monday.
More than 1,000 migrants were rescued trying to cross the Mediterranean over the weekend, Italy's coastguard said on Sunday, with further tragedies narrowly averted.
Around 2,700 migrants were rescued on Wednesday off the coast of Italy, as Europe struggles to deal with a swelling tide of arrivals from across the Mediterranean.
A 32-year-old homeless illegal migrant who jumped into Rome’s Tiber river to save a drowning woman has been given a year-long permit to stay in the city.
Italy reacted on Monday to the arrival of thousands of new migrants at its southern ports by demanding that its European Union partners meet the cost of taking them in.
Ten migrants who attempted to cross the Mediterranean and reach Europe were found dead on Sunday, as the Libyan coastguard intercepted five boats carrying 500 people and ordered them to return.
The Italian coastguard launched a massive operation on Sunday to rescue more than 2,000 migrants in difficulty between the
Italian island of Lampedusa and the Libyan coast, local media said.
The Italian navy said on Monday it had rescued over 2,700 migrants from boats attempting to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa over the weekend, and recovered two bodies off the coast of Libya. The latest figures bring the number of migrants rescued so far this year to 93,000.
Italy's navy on Tuesday said it had rescued more than 1,000 migrants over the past 24 hours, spotted by a helicopter and a drone, as new data showed a sharp rise in asylum claims, mostly from Syrians.
Italy's navy said Thursday it had rescued 128 migrants from Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan and Syria from a boat crossing the Mediterranean which got into difficulty off the coast of Sicily.
UPDATED: Nearly 700 refugees including dozens of Eritreans have been rescued off Sicily in five operations, as leaders grapple with the issue of illegal immigration at a European Union summit.
