Some 1,500 migrants have been rescued by Italian navy and coast guard ships in less than 24 hours , officials said Sunday . Coast guard ships came to the aid of five boats in the southern Mediterranean on Saturday and managed to save all passengers . The rescues were made as newly released figures show an increase of 43 per cent of migrant arrivals into the EU via Italy on the same period last year . Scroll down for video . Rescued : Migrants arrive in the port of Lampedusa on a boat of the Italian coastguard following a rescue operation off the coast of Sicily . The 1,500 migrants were rescued on Saturday by two coast . guard ships and one navy ship in five separate operations , the . coast guard said in a statement . Three of the migrants ' boats were in difficulty and sent . rescue requests via satellite phones while they were off the . coast of Libya . As the coast guard came to the aid of the three boats in distress , they spotted two more trying to cross the sea . The migrants were all transboarded onto the Italian ships . and were being taken to either the island of Lampedusa or ports . in Sicily , the statement said . Saved : Some 1,500 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Italy in were rescued in one day . An Italian coast guard rescuerholds a baby as migrants arrive in the port of Lampedusa on Saturday . About 170,000 migrants entered the European Union through . Italy last year by way of the dangerous sea crossing organised . by human traffickers , most departing from Libya . More than 3,000. perished . During the first two months of this year , arrivals were up . 43 per cent versus the same period of 2014 , officials have said . The coast guard and navy intervened to save three large boats carrying migrants off the Libyan coast after intercepting distress calls from satellite telephones , only to find two other migrants boats in difficulty nearby .
Some 1,500 migrants were rescued by coast guards in less than 24 hours . The migrants were picked up from five boats in the Mediterranean . Arrivals are up 43 per cent this year versus same period in 2014 .