3,000 irregular migrants reach Italy in last 3 days

ROME

About 3,000 irregular migrants have reached Italy in the past 72 hours, media reports said Friday.

As of early Friday, the number who have reached Italy in the Mediterranean rose to 3,000 in three days, according to Italy's ANSA news agency.

The report said the number includes those rescued by the Coast Guard or NGO ships.

A total of 41 boats carrying migrants, reached Lampedusa island on Thursday -- a record for a single day.

Italian Coast Guard is said to be carrying out an operation to rescue 1,300 migrants in the Mediterranean, who are reportedly trying to reach Italy.

A total of 17,592 irregular migrants arrived in Italy in 2023 as of March 10, which is almost three-fold the number compared with the same period last year, according to Interior Ministry data.

Nearly 104,000 irregular migrants arrived in 2022.