Italian Navy Patrol Vessel in Time to Rescue Hundreds
An Italian navy patrol vessel was on time to rescue more than 500 migrants in the Mediterranean sea as the fishing boat carrying the migrants capsized dramatically.
In a dramatic image taken by the Italian navy, hundreds of migrants were thrown into the water and some clung to the nearly sinking boat waiting to be rescued.
Thanks to the Italian navy patrol vessel, the Bettica. The vessel responded immediately to the distress call sent when the boat was 18 nautical miles off the Libyan coast. Amazingly, the crew of the vessel pulled 562 migrants from the sea and recovered five dead bodies.
Bettica and a helicopter threw life jackets and lifeboats into the water to rescue migrants who were desperately trying to stay alive.
The fishing boat was believed to have had 590 migrants on board. Twenty-three migrants were still unaccounted for. The fishing vessel capsized due to overcrowding and then to a rush to one side.
Fleeing from Lawless Libya
The migrants on board the capsized fishing boat were on a mission to flee to safer ground away from their lawless country. Most of the migrants bravely sailed through the water by packing into rubber dinghies to be later picked up by European vessels in the middle of the Mediterranean sea.
According to reports, 6,000 migrants set sail from Libya in the past week. The United Nations also disclosed a report that the total number of migrants crossing from North Africa this year is 37,785.
Thousands Die Crossing the Mediterranean This Year
The Mediterranean is not very big, but it is very dangerous. Oblivious of the perils of the sea, migrants from Libya were determined to cross even with the high risk of drowning.
According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 1,370 migrants have died so far this year while crossing the Mediterranean.
Currently, the Italian navy is raising a boat that sank in the Mediterranean in 2015 with up to 700 migrants on board.
