Coastguard Rescues 108 Migrants Off Libya
Libya’s Coast Guard and the Port Security Agency rescued on Wednesday 108 illegal African migrants who tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach European shores.
Coast
guard spokesman Masoud Ibrahim said they received a distress call and headed
directly to the migrants' location.
They
were later sent to a naval base in Tripoli before the Anti-Illegal Immigration
Agency received them, Ibrahim added.
The
rescue operation comes only a few days after 130 Europe-bound migrants drowned
following a boat wreck in the Mediterranean.
SOS
Mediterranee, which operates the rescue vessel Ocean Viking, announced earlier
this week rescuing 236 migrants in international waters off Libya’s coast, 32
nautical miles from Zawiya city.
The
Marseille-based group reported that the migrants were taken onboard from two
overcrowded dinghies.
“Several
survivors were weak, dehydrated and are now recovering. Some women suffered
mild fuel burns and inhaled fumes,” it stated.
