The French navy rescued hundreds of migrants who had spent several days in the Mediterranean in an attempt to enter Europe, government officials said on Tuesday.
As part of Frontex, NATO's initiative to stem migrant flows, a French naval vessel patrolling the eastern Mediterranean on Monday rescued 214 migrants, including 45 women and 63 minors, Xinhua news agency quoted Finance Minister Michel Sapin and Junior Minister for Budget Christian Eckert as saying in a joint statement.
The migrants were found in a boat 450 km southeast of the Sicily coast and were mainly from Sudan, Eritrea, Syria and Egypt, they added.
The navy handed the rescued people to Italian authorities on Monday evening, according to the statement.
