LÉ Eithne rescues 467 people from wooden barge and raft

The Naval Service LÉ Eithne has conducted its biggest migrant rescue operation to date when it took onboard 467 adults and children who had been trying to reach the EU in a dilapidated wooden barge and rubber raft.

The latest rescue mission brings to 1,620 the number of migrants the ship has rescued since it took up operations in the Mediterranean Sea on May 23 as part of an EU humanitarian mission.

LÉ Eithne was called into action early yesterday morning when a barge was spotted 50km northwest of the Libyan capital Tripoli.