1200 migrants are floating in the sea, rescue operation of Italy

The Italian Coast Guard has started an operation to rescue 1,200 migrants floating in two boats in the sea. It has been reported that the operation to rescue these immigrants from the coast of Italy has started on Monday.

The number of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to Europe has increased dramatically in the last few days. A boat carrying at least 400 migrants is floating in the Ionian Sea off the coast of Calabria in southern Italy, Reuters said. Earlier this boat was seen in Maltese waters.

On Monday, the German non-governmental organization Sea-Watch International said it had detected the location of the fishing boat from an aircraft. A commercial ship in the area supplies fuel and water to the boat in distress. However, the Maltese authorities have ordered to refrain from carrying out rescue operations for the boat's passengers.

The boat carrying the would-be migrants went adrift after setting off from Tobruk, Libya, an alarm phone to help migrants at sea said early Sunday morning. Due to the extra passengers, the boat gets watery.

However, Maltese authorities have not responded to several requests for comment, Reuters reported.

The Italian coast guard on Monday assisted a fishing boat carrying 800 migrants in another operation in the sea 120 miles southeast of Siracusa on the island of Sicily.

In a statement, the Coast Guard said the rescue operation was complicated by the large number of passengers on board.

A Coast Guard spokesman said it would take several hours to complete the two operations, which are underway far offshore in hostile conditions. Before these two operations, the Italian Coast Guard has rescued at least 2,000 migrants since last Friday.

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