BREAKING NEWS

Nearly 11,000 migrants rescued in last 48 hours off Libya

ROME - More than 4,650 migrants were saved on Tuesday off the Libyan coast and 28 bodies recovered, bringing the total number of people rescued in the last 48 hours to nearly 11,000, Italy's coast guard said on Wednesday.
More than 20 people were reported to have suffocated in the hold of one overloaded fishing boat, bringing the total death toll for Monday and Tuesday to 50.
Italian officials said three women saved on Monday had given birth over the past 24 hours on a coast guard vessel that was bringing some 1,000 refugees to Sicily. The women and their three children were all reported to be in good health.
The coast guard said the migrants on Tuesday were rescued from 33 boats, including 27 rubber dinghies and one wooden boat that was believed to have been carrying around 1,000 people.