The Italian Coast Guard coordinated an operation to rescue 305 migrants from a small boat off the coast of the Italian island Lampedusa, the agency said in a statement on Friday
ROME (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st January, 2022) The Italian Coast Guard coordinated an operation to rescue 305 migrants from a small boat off the coast of the Italian island Lampedusa, the agency said in a statement on Friday.
"The operation was complicated by the small size of the boat and an excessive number of people on board, which could lead to capsizing because of waves," the statement read.
Of the 305 people on board the 15-meter boat, 17 were women and six children, the Italian Coast Guard noted.
The rescued were taken to Lampedusa. After providing the Primary care, they were placed in a migrant reception center, the capacity of which was doubled. There are 570 people in it now, while it was designed to hold 250. Meanwhile, two more international NGO ships, carrying over 600 migrants, remain in the sea off the coast of Sicily, waiting for a designated port of arrival.
According to the Italian Interior Ministry, over the past year, more than 67,500 people arrived in the country by sea.
