The Italian Coast Guard announced the rescue of 211 migrants on Thursday evening who were on a fishing boat off the island of Lampedusa, days after a boat accident that led to the death of dozens of migrants.
The coast guard broadcast footage of the rescue operation, which it said was particularly complicated by adverse weather conditions.
The Italian Coast Guard reported that the migrants on board were in danger due to their large number and the precarious conditions of their boat.
He pointed out that about 9,000 migrants were rescued from the beginning of the year until March 2 in the rescue operations coordinated by the Coast Guard, and more than 55,000 were rescued in 2022.
Italy is a major destination for irregular migration across the Mediterranean.
Last week, about 60 migrants were killed after a boat carrying irregular migrants sank off the coast of Italy.
Since 2014, more than 20,000 migrants have died or gone missing in the central Mediterranean, according to the International Organization for Migration.