16 Egyptian fishermen rescued near Libyan coast

CAIRO – 18 December 2017: Sixteen Egyptian fishermen, whose boat was partially destroyed near the Libyan coast, were rescued by an Italian boat belonging to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The fishing boat left the Pogaz Rashid port in Beheira governorate to fish near the Libyan coast, before the ships motor failed due to bad weather. NATO forces spotted and rescued the fishermen from the water and took them to Italy's Lampedusa Island, according to a fisherman who received a phone call from his relative who was one of those rescued.

He called on the Egyptian authorities to return the fishermen to Egypt from Lampedusa Island.