Eight members of the Italian Navy
involved in migrant rescue operations have tested positive for
tuberculosis, but not are ill, the Navy Chief of Staff Giuseppe
De Giorgi said Tuesday.
The eight have been involved in the Mare Nostrum (Our Sea)
rescue operations that began last October after about 400
migrants were killed trying to make the perilous sea journey
from North Africa and the Middle East to Europe via Italy.
Italy is having trouble managing after a massive increase
this year in the already large flow of migrants who attempt the
crossing, often at the hands of human smugglers.
At the end of last month, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano
said almost 40,000 migrants landed on Italy's shores in the
first five months of this year - almost as many as the total for
all of last year.
The government has come under fire over the Mare Nostrum
Operation, which some opposition parties say is encouraging
human traffickers who know that migrants will be rescued by
Italian forces.
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