2,400 migrants plucked from Med in two days

More than 2,400 migrants trying to reach Europe were plucked from the Mediterranean between Friday and Saturday in a series of dramatic rescues and one person was found dead, officials and witnesses said.

An Italian coast guard spokesman said 19 rescue operations by the coast guard or ships operated by non-governmental organisations had saved a total of 2,074 migrants on 16 rubber dinghies and three small wooden boats on Friday alone.

The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said in a tweet that one teenager was found dead in a rubber boat whose passengers were rescued by its ship Aquarius.

“The sea continues to be a graveyard,” MSF said in a Tweet.

The coast guard spokesman confirmed that one person had died but gave no details.

MSF said two of their ships, Aquarius and Prudence, had rescued about 1,000 people in nine boats.

400+ people are being taken care of onboard the #Phoenix after this mornings' rescues. Food being distributed now #RescueHumanity pic.twitter.com/JFHtSwv7Nl

— MOAS (@moas_eu) April 15, 2017

Desperate refugees struggled to stay afloat after they slid off their rubber boat during a rescue operation by the Phoenix, a ship of the rescue group Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS).

Video footage showed rescuers jumping into the water off the coast of Libya to help them.

On Saturday afternoon, MOAS said in a tweet that more than 400 people were being taken care of onboard the Phoenix after the morning rescues.

Those rescued by the MOAS and MSF ships were transferred to Italian coast guard ships, which had rescued other migrants, to be taken to Italian ports.

According to the International Organisation for Migration, nearly 32,000 migrants have arrived in Europe by sea so far this year. More than 650 have died or are missing.