Italy Rescues 1,400 Illegal Immigrants in the Ionian Sea

An illegal immigrant rescued by a merchant vessel disembarks from a Malta Armed Forces patrol boat outside Marsaxlokk, Malta, on April 17, 2023. Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters

The Italian coast guard rescued 1,400 illegal immigrants off the east coast of Calabria, southern Italy, in an operation lasting more than 24 hours, according to a coast guard press release on Wednesday.

The statement said that rescue operations started late Monday and ended in the early hours of Wednesday.