Coast Guard Rescues Over 550 Migrants Amid Storm Off The Italian Coastline

The Italian Coast Guard rescued over 550 migrants, the majority of whom were young men and boys from Egypt, from the stormy sea near the southern coastline of Italy’s mainland.

The migrants were being transported through the rough seas in overcrowded boats when the coast guard spotted them. The first rescue mission began on Saturday night. Authorities were able to rescue 303 migrants from an overcrowded boat and transported them to the port of Roccella Jonica in the Calabria region safely early Sunday, the Associated Press reported.

Later that day, a second rescue operation was carried out after an Italian customs police boat spotted another fishing vessel off Calabria. The coast guard safely brought another 250 migrants ashore during the second mission.

In recent times, an increasing number of human traffickers are seeking new routes to reach the mainland of Italy. Even though most migrants still depart from Libya or Tunisia to reach Italy, a growing number of trafficking boats are using a route that begins in Turkey and ends at the southern tip of the Italian peninsula, according to the outlet.

Migrants rescued from the boats departing from North Africa are taken to Lampedusa, a tiny Italian island, or to ports in Sicily. Whereas migrants departing from Turkey are taken to Calabria or Puglia in the “heel” of the Italian mainland.

Resqship, a non-profit that carries out monitoring missions in the central Mediterranean, tweeted that they alerted authorities about an overcrowded wooden boat with 100 migrants near Lampedusa. The organization said that the migrants had been at the sea since Friday.

"In the evening, a ship of the Italian coast guard arrived and evacuated all people from the wooden boat," Resqship said on Twitter. "We are relieved that these people are now also unharmed and on their way to a safe port."

Early Sunday, Red Cross volunteers at the port of Roccella Jonica gave the migrants plastic clogs, blankets, food and protective face masks as part of COVID-19 precautions.

A tent structure has been set up to offer temporary housing to up to 120 people at a time. The remaining migrants were transported to other shelters.

Earlier this month, a German ship carrying 800 migrants rescued from overcrowded boats floating in the Mediterranean was granted permission by the Italian government to dock at a Sicilian Port after days of waiting, Deutsche Welle reported.

Italy has become the major entry point for migrants leaving North Africa. This year, Italy has accepted about 57,833 as of Nov.12 compared to last year’s total of 31,000.