Italian Navy rescues more than 1,600 migrants in distress at sea

Italian authorities announced on June 29 that over the past two weekends, the Italian navy and coast guard rescued more than 1,600 African immigrants in distress at sea.

Authorities also discovered about 30 bodies on a boat carrying immigrants in the waters between Sicily and the North African coast.

A boat carrying illegal immigrants was discovered by the Italian navy off the coast of Sicily on April 10. (Source: AFP/VNA)

Rescuers discovered the horrific incident when they boarded a fishing boat carrying about 590 refugees and migrants to evacuate the exhausted victims, including two pregnant women, according to the source.

Within 24 hours from June 28 to 29, authorities intercepted seven boats carrying many children, bringing the total number of illegal immigrants entering Europe by sea since the beginning of the year to 60,000 people.

The number of immigrants is expected to surpass the record of 63,000 people in 2011, following the event known as the "Arab Spring."

Some experts even believe that number will reach 100,000 as the weather warms in the coming months.

Illegal immigrants arriving by sea to Italy are mostly people from North African or Middle Eastern countries that are experiencing political and economic instability such as Libya and Syria.

According to figures from the humanitarian organization "Save the Children," among the tens of thousands of people who have crossed the sea to Italy to immigrate to Europe since the beginning of the year, there are more than 9,000 children, many under 5 years old.

For a long time, the above-mentioned massive immigration situation has put great pressure on Italy, however, according to the European Union border monitoring agency (Frontex), the number of immigrants has been increasing sharply in recent months.

In addition, a series of accidents in recent weeks have led to an increase in the number of immigrants dying while attempting to cross the sea, the most recent being the discovery of 30 bodies on a fishing boat carrying about 590 people on June 29.

Earlier this month, 10 migrants drowned and 39 others were rescued after a shipwreck off the coast of Libya.

After two shipwrecks that killed more than 400 migrants last year, the Italian government launched a special operation called "Mare Nostrum" (Our Sea) to save the lives of thousands of illegal migrants entering Europe on rickety and overloaded boats.

Italy is a major gateway for migrants from poor countries seeking a better life in Europe. In 2013, the number of people entering Italy by sea from North Africa more than tripled due to the civil war in Syria and conflicts in the Horn of Africa./.

According to VNA