- Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/ITALY 2,500+ migrants rescued from Mediterranean in a day
- Date: 23rd June 2015
- Summary: POZZALLO, SICILY (JUNE 23, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES SHIP DIGNITY 1 ARRIVING AT PORT VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS SEATED ON BOARD WITH HEADS COVERED FROM SUN SIGN READING (ARABIC AND FRENCH): "DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS" CREW SECURING BOAT CREW SECURING BOAT / MIGRANTS WATCHING FROM DECK GANGPLANK LOWERED POLICE BOARDING SHIP IN PROTECTIVE CLOTHING TWO MIGRAN
- Embargoed: 8th July 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Italy
- Country: Italy
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA80PGCN2URGP7858JW5NC61038
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hundreds of migrants arrived at the Sicilian port of Pozzallo on Tuesday morning (June 23) on the Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) ship Dignity 1 after being rescued at sea.
The rescue was part of another wave of overcrowded craft trying to make the Mediterranean crossing to Italy.
So far at least 2,500 migrants have been rescued in the last 24-hours and brought to ports all over the south of Italy.
A body was brought ashore before the migrants disembarked, believed to be that of a migrant killed during a shooting incident off the Libyan coast. An injured migrant has been taken to the island of Lampedusa for immediate treatment for a gunshot wound to his calf.
The metal coffin was carried off the ship by police and placed into a waiting hearse. A forensic team will carry out an autopsy on the body to try and ascertain the cause of death.
The survivors of the suspected shooting incident are amongst the 292 migrants who have been brought to Pozzallo.
European Union foreign ministers agreed on Monday to launch a naval operation against gangs smuggling migrants to Europe from Libya, although the mission will be limited to intelligence-gathering for now due to lack of U.N. authority.
The operation is part of a stepped-up European response to a surge of migrants from Africa and the Middle East making the dangerous crossing from Libya to Europe.
Many have drowned in the Mediterranean, including around 800 killed in a shipwreck in April. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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