Navy flagship races across the Mediterranean to save thousands of migrants stranded on sinking boats – as HALF A MILLION refugees amass in Libya in bid to reach Europe
- Up to 500,000 refugees are waiting on the Libyan coast for migrant boats
- British Navy flagship HMS Bulwark on its way to help rescue thousands
- Senior officer says the situation is the 'most grim you could possibly find'
- On board Bulwark Defence Secretary Michael Fallon slammed EU countries for not doing enough to help with flood of migrants crossing Mediterranean
Half a million refugees are massing in Libya to try and flee to Europe on the migrant boats that have killed thousands already.
The
huge number of people was revealed yesterday by senior Royal Navy
officers leading Britain's Mediterranean rescue mission off the Libyan
coast.
British
flagship HMS Bulwark was last night speeding across the Mediterranean
to help rescue thousands of migrants said to be stranded at sea having
set off on the dangerous journey from Libya to Europe.
The
Royal Navy assault ship was one of 11 vessels on their way to a major
rescue operation as it emerged the migrants had set off to take
advantage of the good weather.
Scroll down for video
Saved: Rescued migrants sitting on
deck of the German Navy frigate Hessen at an unspecified location in the
Mediterranean Sea earlier today
Reaching out: Migrants are brought
abroad the Hessen. About 2,500 migrants were plucked from Mediterranean
waters in 15 rescue operations off the Libyan coast today
Half a million refugees are massing in Libya to try and flee to Europe on the migrant boats that have killed thousands already
Bulwark's
Captain Nick Cooke-Priest said: 'Indications are that there are from
450,000 to 500,000 migrants in Libya who are waiting at the border.
'There
is no indication of a let up, the indications are that there are
450,000-500,000 waiting on the border of Libya or being mustered or
being moved to the borders.
'This is not going to stop in the near future.'
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All
European naval ships in the region had been ordered to sail to the
Libyan coast in an unprecedented response to help up to 14 migrant
vessels thought to be in peril, according to Sky News.
The
19,000 tonne ship, which is carrying more than 80 British personnel and
is travelling at 15 knots, is understood to be carrying two Merlin
helicopters flying ahead on surveillance missions - one of which has
spotted another migrant boat.
Commodore Martin Connell, the Royal Navy's senior officer commanding the desperate mission, is on board to check on operations.
Strong words: On a visit to HMS
Bulwark off the coast of Libya, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon slammed
EU countries for not doing enough to help with flood of migrants
crossing Mediterranean
In peril: HMS Bulwark (visible in the
background) helped rescue this boat carrying 369 migrants in waters just
north of Libya on May 28
Concern: Mr Fallon speaking with
personnel on board HMS Bulwark. The ship is speeding across the
Mediterranean to help rescue up to 3,000 stranded migrants
'This
is just the most grim situation you could possibly find,' he said. 'It
is a grim business this ... most of these boats won't make it.
'If I could get my hands on some of these smuggling gangs. They have no regard for human life.'
Defence
Secretary Michael Fallon visited Bulwark after being flown in on board
by one of the ship's two Mark II Merlin helicopters.
He
said: 'Well you have seen today 3,000 people trying to cross in a
single day, we could see hundreds of thousands trying to cross this
summer.
'We all have an interest in tackling this much further back.
'The
issue here is poverty and conflict in West Africa and poverty and
conflict in East Africa ... some from Syria ... more than a dozen
countries in west and east Africa.'
Mr
Fallon added: 'We can pool intelligence, get after the gangs
themselves, we can try to cut off their financing. People are making
money out of misery and we can do more there to track down the money.
Desperate
migrants are crossing borders and waiting on the shores of Libya after
paying people smuggling gangs to get them to Italy and then on to
countries such as Britain.
When
the sea is calm, the migrants – who pay as much as £1,000 to get on a
boat – will set off and wait for search and rescue teams to save them.
The
worrying statistic emerged as the Defence Secretary slammed EU
countries for not doing enough to help with the flood of migrants
crossing the Mediterranean.
Discussion: Mr Fallon on board HMS
Bulwark, whose Commanding Officer Nick Cooke-Priest warned up to half a
million migrants are waiting to make the perilous journey by overcrowded
boats from Libya to Europe
Safe landing: HMS Bulwark prepares for
survivors to come on board after their migrant vessel was rescued in
the Mediterranean during an operation on May 13
Relief: A man and his young family are helped to safety during another HMS Bulwark rescue mission at the end of last month
On
a visit to HMS Bulwark, Michael Fallon said Britain and Italy alone
could not stop the crisis and said other EU countries had to get
involved.
Speaking
on the ship, he said: 'It can't simply be left to the Italian Navy and
the Royal Navy. Every European country has to get involved.
'You've
seen here German, Italian and British ships working together but every
EU country has an interest in helping to deal with this problem much
further back otherwise potentially we will see thousands continuing to
try to cross every day and the loss of life that comes with that.'
He
added: 'The Royal Navy stepped up to the plate straight away as David
Cameron promised at the emergency summit so we are doing our bit with
Bulwark and the helicopters - obviously we want other European countries
to do more as well.'
More
than 2,000 men, women and children were rescued earlier on Saturday
from four boats, according to the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS),
and are being taken to Sicily.
Italian,
Irish and German ships joined the effort along with a medical vessel
from Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which assessed and treated hundreds
of patients at sea, reported The Independent.
A
journalist from American network ABC boarded one of the emptied migrant
boats, photographing the 'tiny, putrid' hold where an estimated 250
people were crammed next to the engine for their voyage.
It was unclear whether that rescue was part of the incident that the HMS Bulwark was attending.
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