MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the statement published on the ministry’s website, the Dutch Van Amstel ship received emergency calls from the fishing boat, that was in danger of overturning. Among those rescued by the Frontex marines were 16 children and 40 women, including two pregnant ones, the statement said.
Europe has been beset by a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants fleeing their crisis-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa to escape violence and poverty.
According to the latest data by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over 214,00 migrants arrived in Europe so far in 2016, the majority of them having taken the sea route. A total of 2,856 other migrants were killed or went missing in attempts to cross the Mediterranean Sea.
