LISBON, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Portuguese Navy rescued almost 300 migrants from the Mediterranean Sea, Portugal's Armed Forces General Staff (EMGFA) announced on Friday.
A Portuguese frigate intercepted three overloaded boats carrying 296 people, who have no life jackets.
Among them, 79 are minors, including three babies and a two-year-old. A further 33 of those rescued were female, some of them pregnant.
The migrants were mostly Tunisian, but there were also people from the Ivory Coast, Morocco, Libya, Algeria, Mali, Palestine and Cameroon.
Portuguese Navy officers provided the migrants with food and basic first aid, before transporting them to the Italian port of Pozzallo.
Portugal is taking part in Operation Themis, aimed at controlling irregular migration into the European Union (EU), combating people smuggling and performing search and rescue patrols.
Operation Themis was launched in February by Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency.
According to the EMGFA, the Portuguese Navy has now rescued over 800 people from Mediterranean waters as part of Operation Themis.
