Migrants rescue mission

ROME: A large-scale rescue operation got under way in the central Mediterranean yesterday after the discovery of around 20 boats carrying migrants.

At least seven deaths had been reported, with the bodies arriving in Italy by boat.

SOS Mediterranee, a Franco-German-Italian NGO, wrote on Twitter that one of its boats intercepted 20 migrant vessels. Such boats usually carry roughly 100 passengers each – meaning a likely total rescue tally of around 2 000.

An SOS Mediterranee spokesperson said rescue operations were difficult and that the Italian coastguard and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) were also on the scene. MSF confirmed this, but could not give more details.

Meanwhile, another MSF boat docked in Catania, Sicily, offloading six bodies. It was the first time the charity had arrived in a port with no survivors, it said.

Another group, Malta’s Moas, was to dock in Catania today with 394 survivors. – dpa