The Italian Coast Guard says the dead included a 25-year-old pregnant woman. In all 5,700 migrants were rescued from dozens of small boats and rubber dinghies between Friday and yesterday.
Premier Matteo Renzi appealed to his European partners to come up with a fundamental solution to the migrant issue during a visit to Sicily yesterday, saying "we cannot go on this way."
He called for financial penalties for eastern European countries that refuse to take in migrants. The International Organization for Migrants says at least 3,650 migrants have died crossing the Mediterranean this year.