More than 1,400 migrants rescued in 3 separate operations in Southern Italy

More than 1,400 migrants were brought ashore in three different operations in Italy, authorities said Saturday.

The announcement by the Italian coast guard comes just two weeks after a boat carrying approximately 180 migrants crashed off the southern Italian coast after sailing from Turkey and killing at least 74 people, including 14 children.

Italian authorities said rescue operations began on Friday in the waters off Calabria in Southern Italy.

A 310-foot-long coast guard vessel took 584 migrants aboard, while 379 migrants were rescued by two coast guard motorboats and then taken to an Italian naval vessel headed to a port in eastern Sicily, the coast guard said in a statement.

In a separate operation, a boat carrying 487 people was intercepted by Italian authorities approximately 60 nautical miles (69 miles) off Crotone, a port city in Calabria. The migrants disembarked in Crotone early Saturday morning.

The rescues were “complex” due to the overcrowding of the boats, as well as unfavorable weather conditions, the Italian coast guard said.

The recent increase in migrant arrivals from North Africa and Turkey comes just days after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced the right-wing government would crack down on human smugglers.

On Thursday — as protesters took to the streets to voice their outrage at the administration’s immigration policies — Italian lawmakers approved tougher laws against smugglers, including prison terms of up to 30 years.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, nearly 1,400 migrants died or went missing when crossing the dangerous central Mediterranean route last year.

This year, the agency estimates that around 300 people have lost their lives while attempting to cross the Mediterranean and reach Europe.

With News Wire Services