More than 3400 illegal migrants were rescued from the Mediterranean by the Libyan Coast Guard and the Italian Navy on Saturday, raising the number of the rescued migrants to 10.000 in the last 10 days.
Spokesperson of the Libyan Navy, Ayoub Qasim, said a surge of thousands of migrants of around 20 nationalities poured into the Mediterranean on Friday on rubber and wooden boats in a bid to reach the Italian shores.
The Libyan Coast Guard patrols managed to rescue 673 migrants in different rescue operations while others were intercepted by the Italian Navy.
In the first operation, 124 migrants were rescued 15 miles off Sabratha and were handed over to a tugboat for Millitah Oil Company. The patrols continued the search and found a broken boat with 33 migrants on board. The patrols also found a boat stuffed with 276 migrants, including 20 women and 20 children, in a desperate situation. The patrols ended their mission with a rescue operation of 240 migrants.
Favorable weather conditions have led to this surge of migrants, the Coast Guard said.
Photo: Coast Guard
