WorldROME, REUTERS -More than 4,650 migrants were saved on Tuesday off the Libyan coast and 28 bodies recovered, bringing the total number of people rescued in the last 48 hours to nearly 11,000, Italy's coast guard said on Wednesday. More than 20 people were reported to have suffocated in the hold of one overloaded fishing boat, bringing the total death toll for Monday and Tuesday to 50. The coast guard said new rescue operations were underway on Wednesday, but far fewer than on the previous two days. “Obviously the good weather has played an important role in explaining the large number of recent arrivals,” a coast guard spokesman said. The migrants are brought to Italy, where EU and Italian officials work together to identify and fingerprint the asylum seekers.

Source: Sunday Times October 05, 2016 12:55 UTC