20 bodies recovered as migrant boat sinks off Libya's coast

The EU Mediterranean rescue mission says it has located about 20 bodies in the seas off Libya’s coast after a migrant boat sank. 

Navy Lt Rino Gentile of the EUNAVFOR operation said that the sinking dinghy was first spotted by one of its aircraft.

Both the Italian coast guard and the Spanish frigate Regina Sofia intervened.

He said some 20 bodies were located in the sea.

Earlier, Italian coast guard reported 88 people had been saved. It was the second shipwreck in two days as sea crossings accelerate amid good weather.

Five people were confirmed to have died when a large fishing boat flipped over in the sea on Wednesday.

Europe’s worst immigration crisis since World War Two has led to more than 8,000 deaths in 2½ years, the International Organization for Migration estimates.

Boat arrivals in Italy have risen sharply this week amid warm weather and calm seas, and about 20 rescue operations are currently underway, a coastguard spokesman said.

The coastguard has co-ordinated the rescue of around 900 migrants in seven different operations on Thursday.

That brings the total of migrants who have been rescued since Monday to more than 7,000.