Migrants Rescued
Almost 1,300 migrants arrived in Sicily on rescue ships over the weekend after crossing the Mediterranean, while a 16-year-old boy died on one of the ships, Italy's Coast Guard said.
According to MANA, another 500 migrants were heading to Sicily and expected to arrive in the next couple of days, after being picked up from flimsy boats off the coast of Libya.
Proactive Open Arms, which operated one of the rescue ships, also said on Twitter that five migrants had drowned before one of the rescues, but a Coast Guard spokesman could not confirm the deaths.
Boat migrant arrivals in Italy are up more than 57 percent on the same period last year, according to Italian Interior Ministry figures. About half a million have arrived in Italy since the start of 2014, with a record 181,000 arriving in 2016.
Proactive Open Arms, which operated one of the rescue ships, also said on Twitter that five migrants had drowned before one of the rescues, but a Coast Guard spokesman could not confirm the deaths.
Boat migrant arrivals in Italy are up more than 57 percent on the same period last year, according to Italian Interior Ministry figures. About half a million have arrived in Italy since the start of 2014, with a record 181,000 arriving in 2016.