British authorities have warned that as many as 500.000 people could try to cross the Mediterranean Sea and sail to Europe this summer, after the latest action by the Italian coast guard in which almost 3.500 migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya.
The migrants were rescued yesterday after they were found about 60 kilometers from the Libyan coast in nine wooden ships and six large rubber boats, and the Italian, German and Irish navies participated in the rescue operation, the AP agency reported.
"There are indications that 450.000 to 500.000 people in Libya are waiting at the border to try to leave the coast of that North African country and sail to the Italian coast," said the captain of the British warship "HMS Balwark" Nick Cook-Priest.
That ship, which is part of the international force for patrolling the Mediterranean and rescuing migrants, was visited yesterday by British Defense Minister Michael Fallon, who, when asked by a journalist to comment on the captain's estimate of half a million migrants, said: "This summer, the number of people trying to cross the Mediterranean would the sea could be measured by hundreds of thousands."
Fallon added that Europe should "join forces and take action against gangs of people smugglers", who are based in Libya and organize the smuggling of migrants.
"We can try to stop their flow of funds. These people are making money from other people's misfortune, and we can do more to monitor their money flow," the British minister pointed out.
The Italian authorities saved about 170.000 migrants from the sea last year, and if the British estimates come true, the number of migrants who try to cross the Mediterranean this year and reach European soil could far surpass last year's number.
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