Rome: Around 318 migrants in distress at sea
between Sicily and the coast of Libya were
rescued by an Icelandic navy ship taking part in
an EU border patrol of the Mediterranean, Italian
media reported Saturday.
The ship, the Landhelgisgaeslan, arrived in the
evening at the Sicilian port of Pozzallo with the
rescued migrants, including 14 children and five
pregnant women, who were hospitalised.
Italian police meanwhile have identified eight
suspected Tunisian traffickers.
According to the reports, the migrants came from
13 different countries: Sudan, Ghana, Morocco,
Mali, Mauritanie, Senegal, Pakistan, Nigeria, Syria,
Palestine, Eritrea, India and Tunisia.
The conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa,
especially in Libya which is a key point of
departure, have led to an increase in illegal
immigrants seeking to enter Europe.
The number of migrants entering the EU illegally
in 2014 nearly tripled to 276,000 people compared
to 2013, according to the EU borders agency
Frontex, nearly 220,000 of them arriving via the
Mediterranean.
The United Nations said at least 3,500 people
died last year while crossing the sea, making it
the deadliest migrant route in the world.
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