Over 1,300 migrants were rescued by Italian authorities on Wednesday, from a Search and Rescue (SAR) zone shared between Malta and Italy.

NGO Alarm Phone alerted the authorities about the people in distress on Tuesday who left from Tobruk, Libya.

The NGO said that they were informed that there were two boats that needed rescuing one carrying around 700 and the other carrying around 650 people.

Alarm Phone reported that the boats left together, but they ended up stranded as the engines stopped working.

The NGO also said that the “people in danger reported that 12 people have died or are unconscious and many suffer from dehydration. Both boats could sink at any moment.” However, these are not official.

Alarm Phone also expressed its relief and how during this long operation it coordinated some of the largest boats it has ever assisted.