Nearly 500 Migrants Rescued Off Sicily in Italy

Story by AP

The Italian Navy rescued nearly 500 migrants, including 100 children, in an all-night operation on last Tuesday.

The migrants were brought aboard two navy vessels on Monday evening and Tuesday from two fishing boats tethered together off Sicily. Most were from Bangladesh, Egypt and Syria, the navy said.

There has been an enormous jump this year in the number of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, an increasing number of them children. Of the 26,644 migrants who arrived in Italy through April 30 this year, 3,848 were minors, and 2,744 of those were unaccompanied.