Italy coastguard launches multiple rescues, hundreds of migrants "in danger"
World
Italy coastguard launches multiple rescues, hundreds of migrants "in danger"
ROME (Reuters) - The Italian coastguard launched multiple rescue operations on Friday to save hundreds of migrants packed aboard several boats off the toe of Italy, less than two weeks after at least 73 drowned in a shipwreck.
"More than 1,000 people are in danger," the coastguard said in a statement.
Three coastguard boats were trying to off load around 500 migrants packed on a vessel 70 miles (110 km) south of the Calabrian town of Crotone -- close to the scene of the Feb. 26 disaster.
The coastguard said it had also dispatched a couple of boats to rescue about 800 migrants aboard two more vessels further out to sea. An Italian navy ship was also headed at full speed to the area to help out.
"The rescue operations ... are particularly complex due to the large number of people on board the boats adrift," the coastguard said.
In a separate incident earlier on Friday, the coastguard picked up almost 500 migrants close to the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, local media reported.
Italy's migrant sea rescue capabilities have come under scrutiny following the Feb. 26 shipwreck off the southern region of Calabria. The body of a young boy was recovered on Friday, bringing the death toll to 73, with many migrants still missing.
Police vessels had tried but failed to intercept their wooden boat due to adverse weather, and the coastguard, better equipped to face rough seas, was not immediately activated.
Italy's rightist government responded on Thursday with tougher jail penalties for migrant smugglers and pledges to stop their illegal boat trips, while opening up legal migration channels.
Almost 3,000 people have reached Italy since Wednesday, compared to around 1,300 for the whole of March last year.
As many as 1,869 migrants from 41 separate boats arrived on Lampedusa alone on Thursday, the ANSA news agency said, calling it an all-time record for landings on a single day.
