Rescuers save 2,400 migrants in Mediterranean, recover 14 bodies

Refugees are seen after the arrival of the Coast Guard ship “Bruno Gregoretti” at Naples harbour on October 23, 2016 [Alessio Paduano / Anadolu]

Rescuers pulled 2,400 boat migrants to safety on Saturday, the Italian coastguard said, adding 14 dead bodies had been recovered in the past two days.

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The migrants were on rubber boats and other small vessels, it said in a statement. Some 20 operations were carried out on Saturday alone, including rescues involving an Irish naval ship and boats from humanitarian groups Doctors Without Borders and Sea Watch.

Doctors Without Borders said in a tweet on Saturday it believed 12 people had died during rescue operations, four of them children.

More than 3,100 migrants have gone missing or died this year while trying to use the route from north Africa to Europe by boat, the International Organisation for Migration estimates.

Refugees are seen after the arrival of the Coast Guard ship “Bruno Gregoretti” at Naples harbour on October 23, 2016 [Alessio Paduano / Anadolu]

Refugees are seen at Naples harbour in Italy on 23 October 2016 [Alessio Paduano /Anadolu]

Migrants are seen after the arrival of the Coast Guard ship “Bruno Gregoretti” at Naples harbour on October 23, 2016 [Alessio Paduano / Anadolu]

Image of migrants and refugees arriving at the Salerno harbour, Italy on 23 October 2016 [Alessio Paduano /Anadolu]

Image of migrants and refugees arriving at the Salerno harbour in Italy on 23 October 2016 [Alessio Paduano /Anadolu]

Refugees are seen after the arrival of the Coast Guard ship “Bruno Gregoretti” at Naples harbour on October 23, 2016 [Alessio Paduano / Anadolu]

Migrants arrive at Naples harbour in Italy on October 23, 2016 [Alessio Paduano/Anadolu]

Refugees arrive at Naples harbour in Italy on October 23, 2016 [Alessio Paduano / Anadolu]

Refugees are seen after the arrival of the Coast Guard ship “Bruno Gregoretti” at Naples harbour on October 23, 2016 [Alessio Paduano / Anadolu]

Refugees are seen after the arrival of the Coast Guard ship “Bruno Gregoretti” at Naples harbour on October 23, 2016 [Alessio Paduano/Anadolu]

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