Over 450 rescued migrants arrive at Italian port of Pozzallo

A Norwegian rescue vessel on Sunday arrived at the port of Pozzallo, Sicily carrying 454 migrants picked up from the Mediterranean.

The vessel, named Siem Pilot, also brought the bodies of two sub-Saharan males aged around 25 who had been recovered from two seperate boats.

The cause of their deaths was not clear.

The port authorities said the bodies had been transferred from the ship to the port on Saturday night.

The ship’s captain, Torger Brenden, said among the 454 rescued people arriving on Sunday morning were eight migrants who had been taken ashore on Saturday in order for them to receive medical attention for their injuries.

“Yesterday we disembarked eight people that were injured, also, and also two dead bodies recovered from rubber boats. These people they come from, in total four rubber boats, that departed from the Libyan coast and they were picked up by two military ships. We had a transfer from the military ships and brought them here today. So, many of these people they have lost loved ones and we suspect that also other people have drowned before or under this rescue operation,” he said.

With the closing of land routes in the Balkans and a recent EU deal under which Greece sends migrants back to Turkey, Italian officials expect more refugees and migrants to try to make the longer and much more dangerous sea crossing from Libya.

Video: #Italy's guardiacostiera rescues migrants stranded off off #Sicily's coast Apr12 #SafePassage #RefugeeCrisis https://t.co/YDEGrz9zMP

— Angela Boskovitch (aboskovitch) April 18, 2016

Reuters