Brussels, 16/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - Over the course of the weekend, Italian coastguards rescued more than 2,000 migrants trying to reach Lampedusa, close to Sicily, Italy, from Libya, the channel TGCom24 reports.
On Sunday 15 February, 2,164 immigrants from Libya on twelve un-seaworthy vessels were assisted between the Libyan and Italian coasts. Italian units, assisted by cargo ships, operating a few dozen nautical miles from Libya, were able to save all the passengers. According to the TGCom24 website, on Sunday evening, 520 migrants were on board the Italian Navy vessel Orione, more than 900 had been picked up by coastguard launches and Italian Guardia di Finanza patrol vessels, and the others by various cargo ships which had altered course in the zone.
An incident took place near the Libyan coast, however: an Italian coastguard launch, which had come to the rescue of one of the vessels in the afternoon, was approached from the coast by a high-speed launch. Four men armed with Kalashnikovs forced the Italian rescuers to leave the now-emptied boat, the Italian Transport Ministry said in a press release. (Solenn Paulic)