Italian Navy Rescues Migrants in the Sicilian Strait

The Italian Navy rescued 171 migrants in two separate operations off the coast of Libya in the Strait of Sicily on Tuesday, August 11. In the first operation, the Navy’s Fenice boat rescued 119 people on board two rafts. Fifty-two people were rescued from a semi-deflated dinghy in the second operation, but survivors said around 50 people who had been on board were missing since the boat began to deflate, according to Italian media.

The Navy continued to search for the missing migrants.

The first video shows two migrants who were spotted clinging to a barrel in the water being rescued by helicopter. The men received a health check and were transferred to Lampedusa. Credit: Italian Navy (Marina Militare)