Italian coastguard working to rescue 1,200 individuals attempting to cross Mediterranean Sea

The Italian coastguard is working to rescue 1,200 individuals aboard two boats at sea which have gotten into bother.

One of the boats carrying 400 individuals was beforehand reported to be taking up water with these on board in “imminent danger of death”.

The fishing boat had been positioned by a airplane operated by German NGO Sea-Watch International.

It had set off from Tobruk in Libya however has been adrift at sea.

The different rescue operation by the Italian coastguard on Monday was to assist a fishing boat carrying 800 those that was positioned over 120 miles southeast of Siracusa, in Sicily.

It mentioned in an announcement this operation was difficult by the variety of individuals on board.

A spokesperson for coastguard mentioned it will take hours to finish the 2 ongoing operations due to troublesome circumstances, together with the lengthy distance type the coast.

Before these two operations, the Italian coastguard had already rescued round 2,000 migrants since Friday, it mentioned.

The Mediterranean Sea is among the world’s busiest migration routes and has claimed 1000’s of lives.

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There has been a surge in numbers attempting to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa over the Easter weekend.

Another NGO, Germany’s Resqship, mentioned on Sunday it helped a wreck on Saturday and located about 25 individuals within the water, who mentioned that they had been there for 2 hours.

“Our crew was able to recover 22 survivors and two deceased,” the help group tweeted, including that survivors mentioned about 20 individuals drowned.

The group’s ship, the Nadir, took the rescued migrants to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

“We are angry. This is an unspeakable tragedy that could – and should – have been prevented by a humanitarian approach to migration instead of barb-wiring the European borders,” ResQship mentioned.

Last week, 440 migrants had been rescued off Malta after a fancy 11-hour operation in stormy seas by the Geo Barents
vessel of the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity.

So far this yr some 35,976 individuals have arrived in European nations comparable to Italy, Greece and Spain through the ocean, in keeping with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

At least 443 individuals are believed to have died looking for to enter Europe within the area.