Eight migrants of Algerian nationality who were traveling by boat south of the island of Sardinia in Italy were rescued by the maritime police, who, for safety reasons, took them to the port of Sant’Antioco, it was reported this Sunday.
The rescue was carried out on Thursday evening by marine police officers on mission in Italy as part of Frontex’s Operation THEMIS, according to a statement from the National Maritime Authority (AMN).
Eight migrants aged between 20 and 30 were rescued about 15 nautical miles (about 28 kilometres) south of Sant’Antioco, on the island of Sardinia, according to the ANM.
The Italian coast guard issued a warning about the existence of a vessel with migrants on board, and marine police officers immediately went to the scene.
Upon arrival at the scene, the marine police intercepted the vessel with eight people on board, rescued them and, for safety reasons, transported them to the port of Sant’Antioco, where they were handed over to the competent authorities, according to a statement from the National Maritime Administration.
Since 10 July, the Maritime Police has been participating in the joint operation “TEMIS” of the FRONTEX agency, in which it has participated for the seventh time, the mission of which is “control and surveillance of the Italian and external maritime borders of the European Union, in the fight against cross-border crime within the framework of the functions of the European Coast Guard, the police and the criminal police authority”.
Since 2017, when NCIS began participating in what was then Operation Triton, known as Operation TEMIS since 2018, NCIS has carried out more than 500 missions.