The bodies of nine African migrants have been found at sea off the coast of
Libya by rescuers. 500 survivors in total were pulled to safety.
Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms, which was took part in the rescues, said
the bodies had been recovered by the Santa Lucia merchant ship.
"We are here to stop more people drowning, today eight dead and four
drifting boats" in distress, Proactiva's founder Oscar Champs said on
Twitter.
The charity said there were 79 women and 39 minors including four young
children - among those rescued.
"The Aquarius crew supported our colleagues from Proactiva Open Arms
in a transfer of over 100 rescued people yesterday. We found 9 dead refugees at
the bottom of the rubber dinghy - 5 young men and three women. They were
probably crushed inside the boat. One of the dead is the mother of a 2-year-old
child, who is among the rescued aboard the Golfo Azzurro. As requested by the
rescue coordination centre in Rome, we took the dead bodies aboard."
Nearly 95,000 people have been brought to safety in Italy this year,
according to the interior ministry.
At least 2,385 migrants have died during the perilous crossing since
January, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
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