Coastguard officers reach out to migrants in a small boat during a rescue operation, southeast of Syracuse, in Italian waters, as seen in this picture released on Monday. The migrants intercepted on Monday had paid smugglers to take them to the country illegally in two overcrowded fishing boats that hit huge swells in the Mediterranean Sea. Charities that work with migrants said as many as 26,000 people have either gone missing or died since 2014, while attempting to cross from North Africa to Italy. Sea-Watch, a nongovernmental group that works with migrants, told the BBC one of the fishing boats intercepted on Monday had 800 people on board and the other had 400. Alarm Phone said on its Twitter account ahead of the rescues: "The people on board are in panic and ask for immediate rescue."

Source: The North Africa Journal April 12, 2023 02:40 UTC