Influx of migrant arrivals to Italian island

Almost 5,000 migrants have arrived in Italy between last Thursday and Friday, causing a massive response by Italian Coast Guard and the Italian Navy in a coordinated rescue effort between Calabria and Sicily. People from more than 50 boat arrivals have been housed in a migrant facility on the island.

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency said that crossings in the dangerous central Mediterranean Sea have more than doubled in the first two months of this year, with more than 12,000 irregular crossings. Last month alone, the numbers tripled from a year ago, to 7,000. The U.N. migration agency estimates some 300 people are dead or missing and presumed dead along the perilous central Mediterranean route this year.