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Arrival of migrants in Calabria (archive image from November 14, 2021)
Photo:
Alessandra Tarantino / dpa
The Italian coast guard rescued more than 240 migrants from distress in the Mediterranean.
A patrol boat took the people on board on Sunday night off the Calabrian coast, the authorities said.
Bad weather conditions at sea would have made the more than 16-hour mission difficult.
According to the coast guard, among those rescued are 40 minors and a newborn baby who was born on the fishing boat on the day of the rescue.
A merchant ship and a ship from the EU border protection agency Frontex were also involved in the operation.
The number of boat refugees is increasing
An increasing number of boat refugees have arrived in Italy in recent weeks.
This increases the pressure on Prime Minister Mario Draghi's government to agree on a procedure with EU partners on how to deal with the refugees.
The German rescue organization Sea-Watch reported on 461 people who went ashore from a ship of the helpers in Augusta (Sicily) on Saturday and Sunday.
The Italian coast guard rescued another 296 migrants in the Mediterranean on November 25 when they tried to reach mainland Europe.
A total of around 62,000 migrants have landed in Italy so far in 2021, according to data from the Interior Ministry.
In the same period last year there were around 32,500.
nis / dpa / Reuters
