Rome -
Italian authorities rescued 61 African refugees south of Lampedusa on Sunday in an operation involving the use of an airplane, the coast guard said.
Lampedusa, a tiny Italian island roughly halfway between Sicily and Tunisia, has been the destination of tens of thousands of refugees fleeing poverty and conflict in northern Africa and the Middle East.
More than 36 000 refugees have landed on Italian shores this year.
Refugees continue to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Italy, despite the drowning deaths of 336 refugees near Lampedusa on October 3.
Italy is expanding its patrol efforts in the area between Malta, Sicily and the coast of Libya with more airplanes, ships as well as drones and helicopters equipped with infrared vision equipment.
In the past week, approximately 2 000 people were saved in different incidents. No deaths were reported, according to the Italian coast guard. -
Sapa-dpa