17 bodies found as 1,128 migrants rescued from Mediterranean

Rescue boats have recovered the bodies of 17 migrants and plucked 1,128 survivors from the Mediterranean Sea south of Sicily, a day after 22 corpses were found at the bottom of a smugglers' boat.

The Italian coast guard, which co-ordinated Thursday's rescues, said the operation took on survivors from five rubber motorised dinghies, a larger boat and two small boats.