Nine corpses have been recovered from the sea some 80 miles off the coast of Libya by the Italian maritime squadron, Italian media report today.

Some 144 people have been rescued while the search is continuing for other survivors.

The rescued migrants are now on their way to Sicily on an Italian Maritime Squadron vessel. One of the dead migrants is also being taken to Sicily, while the other eight are on another boat which is still conducting searched in the area where the migrants found themselves in difficulty.

In all, 5,629 migrants were saved by Italian authorities in the last three days. The migrants were on 22 boats and dinghies.

A spokesman for the Armed Forces of Malta confirmed with The Malta Independent that the AFM's patrol boat P51 is helping in the rescue operation as part of a mission involving Frontex and the Italian authorities. Merchant vessels are also giving a helping hand.

Some 3,000 migrants have requested help in the last 24 hours; some have already been assisted.

So far the migrants that have been saved will be taken to Sicily.

The chaotic situation in Libya is leading to more migrants leaving the Libyan coast.

Early this afternoon, the AFM Operations Centre dispatched an Italian Military Mission helicopter following a request by MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre) Rome to assist in the immediate disembarkation of a female migrant. Earlier, the migrant was rescued by a merchant vessel as part of the ongoing Search and Rescue operations taking place in the Southern Mediterranean coordinated by MRCC Rome.

 

The migrant, believed to be of Somali origin, was winched aboard the AB212 III helicopter by the Italo-Maltese crew and was transferred to St Luke’s helipad where an awaiting ambulance transferred the migrant to Mater Dei hospital for further medical treatment.