Navy gears up for further Med migrant rescue missions

The Naval Service is gearing up to save even more migrants from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea this year as refugees pour into Libya from Middle East war zones following Turkey’s promise to cut people-smuggling operations across the Aegean into Greece.

The Italian authorities, who helped co-ordinate LÉ Róisín’s rescue of 125 migrants yesterday, have reported a significant rise in the number of Syrian refugees being taken from potentially lethal wooden barges and inflatable dinghys.

LÉ Róisín, which is captained by Lieutenant Commander Ultan Finegan and has a 57-strong crew, plucked 107 men and 18 women “crammed like sardines” from a dinghy after being alerted by the Italian authorities to the presence of the vessel 74km north-east of the Libyan coast at 10.47am.