ROME—More than 6,900 migrants have been rescued from the central Mediterranean, in one of the largest ever single-day operations, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Tuesday. The Italian coast guard co-ordinated 35 interventions on Monday, intercepting 44 dinghies, eight small wooden boats, one ship with 200 on board and another carrying 704 people, Flavio Di Giacomo, an IOM spokesman in Rome, told DPA. “Nearly 7,000 people in a day is really quite a lot. Di Giacomo said two bodies were recovered, but the cause of death was not yet known. They were due to be taken in the southern port of Brindisi on Wednesday, along with 720 survivors, the local mayor said, as quoted by the ANSA news agency.

Source: thestar August 30, 2016 14:26 UTC