About 1,350 migrants were rescued today during a dozen separate operations in the Mediterranean, with the body of one migrant also recovered, the Italian coastguard said.
A coastguard ship as well as several commercial vessels and two boats operated by NGOs were involved in the operations in the central Mediterranean coordinated by Italy.
The migrants were found mostly on small boats and rafts, though there was also one larger vessel, the coastguard said in a statement.
According to the latest figures released Thursday, nearly 25,100 migrants have arrived in Italy so far this year, a 30 percent increase from the same period last year.
The figures showed that 663 people had died trying to cross the sea to Europe from Libya this year, compared with more than 5,000 in 2016.
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