Printer-friendly versionSend by emailPDF version

Italian coast guards and local fisherman saved all 528 refugees on a boat from Libya after their vessel hit rocks off the island of Lampedusa in an operation a rescuer described as a 'miracle'. Images of the rescue showed people jumping in panic or falling into the choppy waters as their boat heaved in the waves on Sunday. Among the refugees who had thrown themselves into the water at night were 24 pregnant women.