Rome, Nov 16 (IANS/AKI) A total of 298 migrants were rescued in rough seas in the Mediterranean and a corpse was recovered during the operations, Italian Coast Guards said on Tuesday.
The migrants were rescued from three inflatable dinghies which had capsized, the coast guard said.
An Irish naval vessel, a tug boat and two other ships rescued the migrants, who were transferred to the charity-operated vessel Aquarius, according to coastguard.
Six migrants perished when their inflatable dinghy sank off the Libyan coast, while 114 people including 24 minors and eight women were rescued, Italian coastguard said earlier on Tuesday.
A total of 341,055 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea this year through 13 November, arriving mostly in Greece and Italy, the International Organisation for Migration said on Tuesday.
As people smugglers increasingly resort to flimsy, overladen inflatable boats, IOM said close to 4,300 people were reported missing or dead in the Mediterranean in 2016, the deadliest year on record.
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--IANS/AKI
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