MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A respective EU agency in cooperation with the Italian authorities rescued about 5,900 migrants during the recent weekend after they set sail from the Libyan shore in an attempt to reach the European Union, the EU border agency Frontex said in a Monday statement.
"Over the weekend, two vessels deployed by Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, joined the Italian authorities and other vessels to jointly rescue some 5 900 migrants near the Libyan coast," the statement said.
Frontex added that the vessels form Spain and Norway had also participated in the weekend rescued operations.
Europe has been beset by a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants fleeing their crisis-torn countries of origin in the Middle East and North Africa to escape violence and poverty. Thousands of migrants try to reach Italy and Malta via the Central Mediterranean route, which begins at the coast of the crisis-torn Libya.
