Navy picks up further 647 migrants in Mediterranean

The Naval Service’s flagship LÉ Eithne had a record-breaking day yesterday when she picked up a further 647 refugees who were packed into two dangerously unsafe wooden barges.

This means that 3,376 migrants have been rescued by the ship since she began EU-coordinated search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean on May 28.

The crew are now working around the clock and have got little respite in the past 48 hours. The chances are they will remain extremely busy in the coming days as conditions in the Mediterranean Sea continue to remain good — a sign that migrant crossings may intensify.