The Italian coast guard said it coordinated the rescue of 3,324 illegal immigrants from the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya in 36 separate search-and-rescue operations.

This figure brings the number of rescued migrants to more than 10,000 since Thursday. 

In a statement on Monday, the Italian coast guard said that the rescues were conducted by Italian coast guard and navy vessels, as well as vessels operated by Eunavformed, the EU borders agency Frontex and the charities Doctors without Borders (MSF) and Sea Watch.

The saved migrants were moved to ports in south Italy, the statement added. 

The latest rescues pushes to more than 66,000 the number of mostly African migrants to arrive in Italy since the beginning of 2016, according to figures compiled by the UN refugee agency.

Source: MENA