A Libyan helicopter hovers over as refugees wait to get on onboard the rescue vessel in the Mediterranean Sea
TRIPOLI, May 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Libyan navy on Saturday announced that a coast guard patrol rescued a total of 172 illegal immigrants off the country’s western coast.
The 172 people were rescued off the coast of the city of Zawiya, some 45 km west of the capital Tripoli, after the patrol received a distress call, the Libyan navy said in a statement.
“As soon as the rescue operation was completed, the illegal immigrants were disembarked at the Tripoli Naval Base, and then transferred to the Ain Zara reception center (in Tripoli),” the statement said.
According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 600 illegal immigrants were returned to Libya over the past 48 hours.
Libya has become a preferred point of departure for thousands of illegal immigrants every year to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe. — NNN-XINHUA