AlQa'dah 8, 1436, Aug 23, 2015, SPA -- Around 4,100 migrants were rescued over the past 24 hours from 22 vessels in distress in the central Mediterranean, Captain Marco Di Milla, and Italian coast guard spokesman, told dpa Sunday. A spokesman for the Italian office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Flavio Di Giacomo, gave a slightly higher tally. Writing on Twitter, he said 4,150 people were picked up in the waters between Sicily and North Africa. The rescued were being taken to Italian land. The ANSA news agency reported that 548 migrants were set to land in Palermo, Sicily, on Monday, and 935 were likely going to arrive on the same day in Cagliari, Sardinia. The coast guard said three more rescue operations were ongoing Sunday. Three passing cargo ships were diverted to go rescue three distressed vessels carrying a yet-to-be-announced number of migrants. Italy, along with Greece, is usually the first port of call for Europe-bound migrants taking the sea route and hoping to travel on and settle in wealthier nations like Germany.
