Charity worker celebrates with a SELFIE as Italian coast guard rescue a record 4,400 migrants in a single day 

  • Record-breaking operation used Italian, Norwegian and Irish naval vessels 
  • Coast guard received desperate calls for help from nearly two dozen boats
  • People-traffickers took advantage of ideal sea conditions to launch the fleet
  • 110,000 migrants rescued off the coast of Libya by Italy already this year
By IMOGEN CALDERWOOD FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 09:41 EST, 23 August 2015 | UPDATED: 13:00 EST, 23 August 2015
The Italian coast guard has pulled off a record-breaking rescue of 4,400 migrants in a single day, left floundering off its beaches in a fleet of dilapidated and dangerous boats.
Desperate calls for help were received by the guard from nearly two dozen motorised rubber dinghies and fishing boats, all crammed with migrants hoping to reach Europe’s southern shores.
Once rescued, the migrants were brought ashore at southern Italy's Vibo Valentia harbour where they received treatment from medical organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders).
One worker with the organisation even snapped a selfie with rescued migrants as they came ashore.
Scroll down for video  
Relief on land: A member of Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) takes a selfie with migrants upon their arrival at the Vibo Valentia harbour, Italy. The Italian coast guard rescued 4,400 migrants crammed into dilapidated dinghies off its shores on Satuday
+12
Relief on land: A member of Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) takes a selfie with migrants upon their arrival at the Vibo Valentia harbour, Italy. The Italian coast guard rescued 4,400 migrants crammed into dilapidated dinghies off its shores on Satuday
Terror: The coast guard received desperate pleas for help from nearly two dozen dinghies and inflatable boats that were floundering off its beaches
Terror: The coast guard received desperate pleas for help from nearly two dozen dinghies and inflatable boats that were floundering off its beaches
4,400 migrants saved by Italian coast guards
Loaded: 0%
Progress: 0%
00:00
Play
Mute
Current Time0:00
/
Duration Time0:00
Fullscreen
Gangs of people-traffickers had taken advantage of the ideal sea conditions on Saturday to launch a fleet of overcrowded, unseaworthy boats destined for Italy.
The Italian coast guard coordinated the rescue, which included the Italian navy and border police, as well as Norwegian and Irish naval vessels deployed in a European patrol-and-rescue force.
Known as the Triton rescue mission, the effort was one of the biggest multi-national operations so far.
Families fleeing their war-torn home countries were crammed into inflatable dinghies and overcrowded and dilapidated fishing boats, the coast guard said.
Boats in distress use satellite phones to call coast guard rescuers or are spotted by patrolling Italian military aircraft.
Europe is currently buckling under the pressure of a record influx of refugees as people flee war and poverty in a number of Middle Eastern and African countries.
Crush: Gangs of people-traffickers in Libya took advantage of the ideal sea conditions to launch the fleet of small ships, destined for Italy
Crush: Gangs of people-traffickers in Libya took advantage of the ideal sea conditions to launch the fleet of small ships, destined for Italy
International operation: Italian authorities coordinated the effort, which included naval vessels from Italy, Norway and Ireland
International operation: Italian authorities coordinated the effort, which included naval vessels from Italy, Norway and Ireland
Deadly: Some 110,000 migrants have already been rescued off Libya and brought to southern Italian ports this year
Deadly: Some 110,000 migrants have already been rescued off Libya and brought to southern Italian ports this year
Danger: More than 2,300 people have died this year in attempts to reach Europe by boat, according to the International Organisation for Migration
Danger: More than 2,300 people have died this year in attempts to reach Europe by boat, according to the International Organisation for Migration
Plea for help: Boats that find themselves in trouble during the crossing use satellite phones to call coast guard rescuers or are spotted by patrolling Italian military aircraft
Plea for help: Boats that find themselves in trouble during the crossing use satellite phones to call coast guard rescuers or are spotted by patrolling Italian military aircraft
Some 110,000 migrants have already been rescued off Libya and brought to southern Italian ports this year.
The Mediterranean has become the world’s most deadly crossing point for migrants.
More than 2,300 people have died this year in attempts to reach Europe by boat, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
But many are seeking alternative routes to Western Europe.
Thousands of starving, rain-soaked migrants stormed across Macedonia’s border as police hurled stun grenades into the crowd and beat them with batons.
A crowd of around 3,000 people, including children and the elderly, had been forced to wait out in the open for 48 hours, without access to food or shelter.
Macedonia had attempted to close its border against the wave of people on Thursday, after declaring a state of emergency within the country.
Perilous crossing: The Mediterranean has become the world’s most deadly crossing point for migrants
Perilous crossing: The Mediterranean has become the world’s most deadly crossing point for migrants
Dry land: Migrants recuperate after the horrors of the crossing, crammed with thousands of others into tiny boats as they flee their war-torn countries
Dry land: Migrants recuperate after the horrors of the crossing, crammed with thousands of others into tiny boats as they flee their war-torn countries
Dry land: Migrants recuperate after the horrors of the crossing, crammed with thousands of others into tiny boats as they flee their war-torn countries
Families: Parents are being forced to put their children at terrifying risk, the lesser of two evils compared to the fighting and poverty in their own countries
Families: Parents are being forced to put their children at terrifying risk, the lesser of two evils compared to the fighting and poverty in their own countries
Journey continues: From southern Italy, most will continue moving upwards in an attempt to reach northern Europe
Journey continues: From southern Italy, most will continue moving upwards in an attempt to reach northern Europe