Italy's Coast Guard helped save 144 migrants Monday from a capsized boat in the waters off Libya and spotted nine bodies. It was the most dramatic of numerous rescue operations that brought thousands to safety in recent days, as good weather encourages the desperate to set out on smugglers' vessels, AP reported. The overturned boat was spotted 80 miles north of Libya, Coast Guard Cmdr. Filippo Marini told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. Rescuers were not yet able to determine from survivors whether some other migrants might be missing, he said. Nationalities of the migrants were not immediately made known. An air-and-sea search was in progress near the capsizing boat. Marini said that many of the rescue operations were outside the area of Operation Triton, the European Union patrol mission for surveillance and eventual assistance for the migrants. Even outside that zone, other vessels, including merchant ships, often come to the rescue. Good weather is playing a role in the current surge in sea voyages. Mild temperatures and skies encourage migrant crossings, because they provide a greater chance of survival on the rickety fishing boats or rubberized dinghies that set sail from Libyan shores. In a three-day period starting Friday, 5,629 migrants were rescued, the Coast Guard said. -- SPA 17:59 LOCAL TIME 14:59 GMT تغريد
