TheCable

Sandra Dike, a heavily pregnant 20-year-old Nigerian woman, was among the 3,600 migrants who were rescued from the Mediterranean on Thursday.

Dike fled Nigeria to Libya because of the insurgency in the northeast, but decided to embark on the risky journey to Europe as a result of the crisis in Libya.

“It’s not safe to go to a public place, like a church, the market. Boko Haram may bomb the place at any time,” she said.

“The war in Libya is worse and that is why we decided to come to Italy.”

The Italian government said the migrants were rescued from overcrowded boats sailing from Africa to Europe.

According to the coast guard in Catania, Sicily, most of the migrants, who are Somalis and Nigerians, were picked up by the British warship HMS Bulwark.

A coast guard official said more than 600 migrants were brought ashore at the port of Catania in Sicily, while rescuers plucked another 2,500 from rickety boats off the coast of Libya.

The coast guard official said a German ship, Italian navy vessels, a merchant ship, and Italy’s finance police and coast guard all conducted rescue operations on Friday.