Thousands of migrants rescued at sea

(BBC News) — Nearly 3,700 migrants were rescued from boats near the coast of Libya on Saturday and early on Sunday, the Italian coastguard said.

A spokesman said rescue operations were likely to continue throughout Sunday. All of those pulled from boats were being taken to Italy.

Italian authorities said the migrants were rescued by Italian and French navy vessels in 17 separate operations.

At least 1,750 people have died this year trying to cross the Mediterranean.

Many more are expected to make the crossing as smugglers take advantage of calmer weather.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned that 30,000 migrants could die trying to cross the Mediterranean this year – a huge increase on the 3,279 killed in 2014.

European Union leaders called an emergency meeting last month to discuss the crisis after more than 800 people died in a single incident – the deadliest capsize recorded in the Mediterranean.

Prosecutors in Italy charged the captain of that boat with homicide.

The EU said it would triple the funding for search and rescue operations and target smugglers boats with military strikes.