Italy: More than 600 people rescued

Rome: The Italian coast guard rescued roughly 600 migrants from a fishing boat in distress off the island of Sicily, according to news agency ANSA.

Several rescue operations facilitated by the Italian coast guard, the navy and the EU border protection agency Frontex took place at sea over the weekend.

The operations were conducted in Italian waters off the island Sicily under difficult weather conditions, according to ANSA.

The private sea rescue organization Sea-Watch said it located several of the boats in distress using its drones before authorities ended up rescuing the migrants. One of the migrant boats reportedly held up to 221 people on board.

The Italian Interior Ministry said that more than 32,700 people have reached Italy as irregular migrants on boats this year. That is more than four times the same rate as at this point last year.

The Italian government last week decided to declare a national state of emergency on account of these large numbers.

In addition to people fleeing poverty and persecution from the Middle East, Africa and beyond, there has been a steep rise in people arriving from Tunisia, which is considered a safe country of origin.