More than 1,500 migrants rescued Monday

(ANSA) - Rome, August 10 - More than 1,500 migrants were rescued Monday from at least seven vessels in the Mediterranean Sea, Italian Coast Guard said.
    Some four boats and three inflatable rafts were all in distress, floating on sea waters about 40 miles off the Libyan coast when search and rescue operations began.
    The Fiorillo ship rescued 345 migrants while another 230 people on board the rubber dinghies were taken onboard by the Phoenix. The Irish ship Le Niamh - which has become well known in recent days for numerous high-profile rescues - took on 125 migrants while the Italian Navy used its Fenice vessel to rescue 78 migrants.
    Another ship was making its way towards two other migrant boats crammed with more than 800 people.
    Meanwhile, some 453 migrants, including 13 children, were brought to shore Monday in the Sicilian of Pozzallo by the Coast Guard ship Diciotti.
    Some of the migrants, including four pregnant women and three men with injuries, were taken to hospital.
    While some in the group were accepted into the reception centre of Pozzallo, others were transferred to migrants centres in Sicily or sent further north on the Italian mainland.
    Police said they detained two suspected human smugglers from the group.