Toddler among 129 migrants rescued in Mediterranean

A toddler was among 129 migrants who reached the Sicilian port of Catania after being rescued in the Mediterranean, Italian coast guard reported on Wednesday.

The migrants are mainly form Senegal and Ivory coast and were rescued from a rubber dinghy off the Libyan coast on Sunday, according to the report. They included 10 women and 42 unaccompanied minors.

Around 160,900 migrants and refugees are being hosted in reception centres in Italy and 144,527 migrants have arrived in the country by sea this year, the Italian Interior Ministry said on Saturday.

Italy and Greece are the main entry points for hundreds of thousands of people arriving in Europe across the Mediterranean and Italy wants more migrants to be relocated to other European Union countries.

Last year, over one million people sought refuge in Europe from war, poverty and persecution in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.