More than 1,000 migrants, fives bodies picked up from Mediterranean

One dead migrant was brought to the Italian navy's Etna vessel by a Maltese merchant ship

File photo (John Pisani)
File photo (John Pisani)

Italian authorities said Wednesday they recovered a total of 1,026 survivors and five bodies during several Mediterranean migrant rescue missions over the past 24 hours.

One dead migrant was brought to the Italian navy's Etna vessel by a Maltese merchant ship, authorities said in a statement. Four more victims were transferred to the Orione patrol boat from a Cypriot motor boat.

The Etna vessel rescued 363 survivors, while the Orione patrol and the Driade corvette boat saved another 440 and 223 migrants, respectively, the Italian navy said.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR estimated earlier this month that 3,419 migrants had died in Mediterranean crossings since January 1, making it the deadliest sea route for migrants.