Italy's coastguard said it had rescued more than 1,000 migrants from two fishing boats in the Mediterranean overnight, while two bodies had been recovered. The two 'complex' operations off the coast of Syracuse in Sicily, involving boats from Libya, followed an alert on Tuesday from Alarm Phone, a group running a hotline for migrants needing rescue.
From the first boat, about 35 miles from the Sicilian coast, an Italian coastguard ship rescued 416 migrants while a Spanish patrol vessel working with EU border force Frontex rescued another 78. From a second fishing boat, 60 miles from the coast, vessels from the coastguard and Italy's financial crime police intervened to rescue 663 migrants and "two lifeless bodies" were recovered, it said. -- AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
