6 found dead in migrant boat, 108 rescued

April 18, 2016 1:43 PM

The migrants and the six corpses are being taken to the Italian island of Lampedusa, the coast guard said.

Six corpses found in migrant boat, 108 rescued- Italy coast guard

Six bodies were recovered and 108 migrants were rescued from a semi-submerged rubber dinghy, Italy's coast guard said on Monday, as boat arrivals accelerate amid calm seas.

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A private rescue ship called Aquarius run by humanitarian group SOS Mediterranee found the bodies on the rubber dingy on Sunday, a coast guard spokesman said. Five women were among those rescued. The coast guard had no details about the nationality of the migrants.

Separately, Italy's coast guard rescued 33 migrants from a small island off the eastern coast of Sicily on Sunday.

Almost 6,000 migrants and refugees sailed from Libya to Italy last week in what appears the start of a wave of at least 100,000 and "possibly many, many more" this year, the International Organization for Migration said on Friday.

Ben Bassey

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