More than 500 migrants plucked from Mediterranean by rescue boat

According to report, more than 500 migrants who were trying to cross the Mediterranean in several small boats that were in danger of capsizing have been rescued at sea.

Spanish aid organisation Proactiva Open Arms said the Golfo Azzurro, a former fishing trawler the group operates, plucked 514 migrants from more than a dozen rubber and wooden boats during a 24-hour period from Saturday to Sunday morning.

Those rescued were refugees fleeing the war in Syria and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa who had set sail from Libya, the group said.
The charity tweeted that the boat had picked up 514 people over 24 hours.

The Golfo Azzurro was operating as part of an NGO rescue fleet co-ordinated by the Italian coastguard.
It returned to an Italian port after bad weather set in.

Also on Sunday, Spain’s maritime rescue service said a rescue boat and helicopter worked together to save three migrants in a small vessel found two miles off the Spanish coast.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean Sea in smugglers’ boats in hope of a better life in Europe, but thousands die each year trying.

Libya is one of the prime launching points.