Egypt detains 45 people who tried to migrate to Europe by sea

The Egyptian army announced yesterday that it had detained 45 immigrants, all of them Egyptians, while they were trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea, near the city of Salloum on the border with Libya.

In a statement, the army said naval forces “succeeded in rescuing a boat of illegal immigration with 45 individuals on board, 96 nautical miles from the city of Salloum in Matrouh Governorate, as part of maritime search and rescue efforts in all strategic directions.”

The General Command of the Armed Forces in Egypt “issued orders to provide support and relief to one of the boats, which is transporting a group of individuals for the purpose of illegal migration, after receiving a distress call from it,” it added.

The migrants were handed over to the authorities after they were rescued.

Many young Egyptians, who suffer from poverty, unemployment and high prices, see irregular migration from the Libyan coast as their only hope for a better future in spite of such journeys being carried out by unscrupulous gangs.

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