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.
Italian coastguard and navy vessels and a Maltese cargo ship have saved asylum-seekers from five boats in the past 24 hours, including at least two that were adrift, officials said.
“It was a night of rescues in the Strait of Sicily” — the stretch of water between Sicily and Tunisia, the coastguard said in a statement.
The 318 migrants picked up by the navy were all packed on two boats and were later transferred onto the San March amphibious assault ship taking part in a massive search and rescue operation.
The operation was launched by the Italian Government in the wake of an October 3 refugee shipwreck tragedy just off the Italian island of lampedusa in which 366 asylum seekers perished.