http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/italy-recovers-bodies-saves-500-migrant-ship-flips-39370173
Italy recovers 7 bodies, saves 500 after migrant ship flips
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
The Associated Press
ROME — A large ship overturned Wednesday off Libya's coast with more than 500 migrants aboard, right as the Italian navy was approaching for rescue. Crews recovered seven bodies but saved more than 500 people who were thrown into the sea.
The Italian navy said its Bettica patrol ship was responding to a migrant ship in distress when it flipped. A photo of the capsized boat taken by the navy showed migrants scrambling up the side of the overturned ship, perching precariously on the exposed side as they awaited rescue, with hundreds more floating in the sea.
Crews tossed life jackets to those in the water and brought 500 to safety, the navy said in a statement.
Rescue operations off Libya's coast have increased in recent weeks amid calm seas and warm weather — conditions that encourage Libyan-based smugglers to crowd hundreds of would-be refugees onto unseaworthy boats for the trip to Europe.
---------
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-shipwreck-idUSKCN0YG1MV
Wed May 25, 2016 12:01pm EDT
Italian navy says migrant boat flipped, five dead
ROME | BY STEVE SCHERER
A large wooden fishing boat overcrowded with migrants capsized off the coast of Libya, the Italian navy said on Wednesday, with some 562 people rescued and five found dead.
Photographs show the blue fishing boat rocking violently before capsizing, sending migrants tumbling into the sea. Some then climbed onto the hull of the overturned vessel, while others swam for life boats or toward the navy ship.
Navy swimmers are also shown pulling migrants in lifebelts toward safety, according to the navy pictures. Women and children were among those rescued, but no details of the migrants' nationalities have been given.
The Italian navy patrol boat Bettica saw that the vessel was in difficulty and approached it to hand out life jackets, but before it could begin a rescue the boat flipped over due to the sudden movement of the passengers, a statement said.
Navy frigate Bergamini deployed a helicopter, and several rubber motor boats were used in the rescue operations, which have now concluded.
The Bettica has already responded to another call for help and is in the process of rescuing 108 migrants from a large rubber boat, the navy said.
Boat arrivals rose sharply this week amid warm weather and calm seas. Italy's coastguard said 5,600 migrants were rescued on Monday and Tuesday, and officials fear numbers will increase as conditions continue to improve.
In the past two years, more than 320,000 boat migrants have arrived on Italian shores and an estimated 7,000 died in the Mediterranean as they sought to reach Europe, according to the International Organization for Migration.
(Editing by Crispian Balmer; editing by Ralph Boulton)
https://nationalpostcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/italy3.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=940&h=500
https://nationalpostcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/italy4.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=940&h=705
Received on Wed May 25 2016 - 13:55:44 EDT
