Over 5,000 migrants have been saved in the Central Mediterranean since Friday, according to the EU’s border control agency Frontex.
The rescue operations, which began last Friday, involved migrants who departed from Libya on 25 boats. During the incidents, the rescuers also recovered seventeen bodies.
The rescue operation involved British, Maltese, Belgian and Italian vessels and Icelandic and Finnish planes deployed in EU operation Triton, coordinated by Frontex.
“This is the biggest wave of migrants we have seen in 2015”, said Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri . “ The new vessels that joined operation Triton this week have already saved hundreds of people,” he added.
As informed, the migrants will be disembarked at the Italian ports of Lampedusa, Crotone, Pozzallo, Augusta, Trapani, Porto Empedocle, Palermo, Taranto and Cagliari.
There are currently five new rescue operations on-going that involve more than 500 migrants. Since the beginning of the year over 36,000 migrants arrived in Italy, not including migrants rescued this weekend, Frontex informed.