Some 970 migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya on Thursday, Italy's coastguards said, as the numbers attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe continue to rise. The migrants rescued Thursday were crammed into four rubber dinghies, a small wooden boat, and another, larger one. The coast guard also received a distress signal from a sailboat that left Greece with about 85 migrants on board, heading to southern Italy, but the boat never made it out of Greek waters. It was rescued by a Maltese vessel that happened to be in the area, and the migrants were taken to the southern Greek port of Kalamata. European countries are considering new measures aimed at blocking the migrants' arrival, alarming aid groups which fear people stranded in Libya may suffer mistreatment.

Source: Egypt Independent March 03, 2017 13:52 UTC