(VOVworld) - More than 5000 migrants hoping to get to Europe were rescued by Italian Coast Guard together with ships of Germany, Ireland and the UK.

More than 2,000 migrants were rescued by Italian Coast Guard from rickety converted fishing boats off Libya on Saturday and many more were reported to be aboard other distressed vessels in the area. Italy’s coastguard could not confirm the numbers but said it was trying to get to a number of other boats which had requested assistance.
The number of migrants attempting the crossing on boats organized by people traffickers has increased by over ten percent in the first five months of 2015, suggesting last year’s figure of 170,000 migrants arriving in Italy will be surpassed.