The Italian coast guard said Wednesday
it had rescued nearly 1,500 migrants and refugees from boats in
distress in the Ionian sea on Monday and Tuesday as improved
weather conditions drove a new wave of departures to Italy.
On Tuesday night coast guard and finance police vessels
intervened to rescue around 130 mostly Pakistani nationals on
board a small fishing boat in distress 117 nautical miles from
Capo Rizzuto in the Calabrian province of Crotone.
The group had been flagged by the hotline for migrants in
distress in the Mediterranean, Alarm Phone, and had departed
from Libya.
The rescue came after a coast guard patrol boat rescued 46
people from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan on a sail boat in
distress off Crotone, including two children who required
immediate medical attention, on Tuesday morning.
Both groups were disembarked in Crotone.
On Monday night two coast guard patrol boats supported by a
Frontex vessel rescued approximately 590 people from a fishing
boat 52 nautical miles from Crotone.
The survivors were subsequently transferred to the coast guard
vessel Diciotti, which then went on to rescue a further 650
people from another fishing boat with support from a Frontex
naval asset, two coast guard patrol boats and a merchant vessel
present in the area.
200 people were disembarked in the Sicilian port of Messina and
500 in Reggio Calabria on Wednesday.
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