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Roundup: Almost 3,000 rescued migrants arrive to Italy in single day: coast guard

Xinhua, November 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

Almost 3,000 migrants and refugees rescued in the Mediterranean Sea reached various ports in southern Italy on Monday,the authorities said.

Italy's coast guard ship Dattilo arrived at the port of Palermo, the regional capital of Sicily, with 1,045 people and 10 bodies on board, according to the coast guard.

Another 712 migrants reached the port of Augusta, also in Sicily, on board of two vessels from Italy and Spain's navy.

Some 799 rescued people, and 4 dead migrants, were on board of another coast guard vessel reaching the port of Reggio Calabria later in the day.

Some 111 children and 81 women were among those brought to Reggio Calabria. Overall, these migrants and refugees originated from various African countries, the coast guard stated.

Further 400 people mainly of sub-Saharan origin reached the port of Vibo Valentia, also in the Calabria region, aboard of Irish ship Topaz Responder.

They brought the total to 2,956 arrivals in one day. All rescue operations in the central Mediterranean are being coordinated by the Italian coast guard, which said over 2,200 people were saved, and 10 bodies found, during 16 missions on Saturday alone.

The day before, on Nov. 4, another 1,200 migrants and refugees had been picked up in 10 missions.

These latest rescue efforts were carried out by Italy's navy and coast guard, along with ships from the European Union (EU) naval mission EUNAVFOR MED and from various aid groups, plus some private merchant vessels, the authorities said.

Migrant sea arrivals to Italy reached 27,272 in October, against some 8,900 registered in the same month last year, according to UN refugee agency UNHCR.

Italy has received 161,668 people from January up to November 6, well above the 153,842 arrivals stated in 2015 overall. Some 14 percent of them were unaccompanied children, the agency added.

At least 3,981 migrants were also reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean up to Oct. 31, 2016, against 3,771 registered in the whole of 2015, according to UNHCR. Endit