Navy back on med rescue duty as weather improves

The Naval Service made its first migrant rescue this year as the weather improved off the coast of Libya yesterday, prompting people-smugglers to push thousands of frightened refugees, corralled for weeks in holding compounds, into deathtrap vessels onto the Mediterranean Sea.

Naval Service flagship LÉ Eithne, which left her base at Haulbowline Island on May 23, was called into action at 8am when her 73-strong crew under Commander Brian FitzGerald, received a call from the Italian authorities to help 135 migrants who were packed into a dinghy 83km north-west of the Libyan coast.

After helping them the situation became so desperate in the area that the flagship was told to co-ordinate rescue efforts for three volunteer ships which were attending 10 other migrant rescue incidents.