3,500 migrants detained in Mediterranean Sea

Italian Coast Guard say at least 3,500 illegal migrants have been detained from five wooden boats in the Mediterranean sea, and as many as 7 other vessels have been spotted at sea. The migrants were packed onto wooden fishing boats in the Mediterranean off the Libyan coast, ABC, quoting Italian Coast Guard officials, said on Sunday. Nine wooden boats thought to be converted fishing vessels and six large rubber dinghies were all found drifting around 45 miles off the Libyan coast after issuing distress calls via satellite phone, the coastguard said. The number of migrants detained put at 3,500 by the coast guard and there were no reports of casualties. One Italian navy ship, which was ferrying 475 migrants to Sicily, southern Italy, reported it had 7 pregnant women amongst its human cargo. The coastguard said rescue operations were ongoing. "We have several assets at work," a spokesman said. There have been 46,500 sea arrivals in Italy in 2015 so far, a 12 per cent increase on the same period last year, the UN refugee agency said. Italy's government projects 200,000 will come this year, up from 170,000 in 2014, according to ABC.