Roundup: 22 bodies recovered in central Mediterranean in last 2 days

Thousands of migrants and refugees were rescued in the central Mediterranean Sea in the last two days, and the bodies of 22 people were recovered, the Italian navy and humanitarian sources said on Thursday.

Overall, at least 2,600 people have been brought to various ports in the southern Sicily region since Wednesday, according to Italy's navy and coast guard.

Some 1,146 migrants arrived in Sicily's regional capital Palermo, including 23 pregnant women and 63 unaccompanied minors, the navy specified.

They mainly came from Somalia, Libya, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, and other African countries.

Another 378 people were brought to the port of Trapani, in western Sicily, by a vessel of the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) aid group.

They had been rescued off the Libyan coasts in the night between Tuesday and Wednesday, while sailing on board three overcrowded dinghies, MOAS said. They mostly came from Sub-Saharan countries.

Another MOAS ship with 362 rescued migrants and refugees on board was en route towards Reggio Calabria port, also in Southern Italy, late on Thursday.

Meanwhile, rescuers also reported the latest migrant tragedy.

The bodies of 21 women and one man were recovered from a dinghy during a rescue operation in central Mediterranean on Wednesday, humanitarian association Doctor Without Borders (MSF) said.

Some 209 people were rescued during the mission, and were expected to reach Trapani on Friday.

Most of the survivors were from Nigeria, Guinea, and other West African countries. Among them were 32 women and 50 children, of whom 45 were travelling alone, MSF added.

According to the rescuers, the group was sailing on board two dinghies, and was forced to launch a distress call only few hours after setting sail from the Libyan coast. The call was received by the Italian coast guard, which notified the alert to an MSF ship patrolling the area.

"When our team approached the first dinghy, they saw dead bodies lying at the bottom of the boat in a pool of water and fuel," Jens Pagotto, MSF Head of Mission for Search and Rescue Operations, said in a statement.

"It is still unclear exactly how they have died," he added.

Finally, an Italian navy ship brought 602 people to the port of Augusta on Wednesday. Mostly from Sub-Saharan countries and Syria, the migrants had been rescued from five inflatable boats in the Strait of Sicily between Libya and Italy.

Another 451 rescued migrants reached the port of Messina.

The perilous crossing of the Mediterranean has become the key route for migrants and refugees heading to Europe, after the safer alternative by land through Turkey, Greece, and the Western Balkans was shut in spring.

Some 79,851 people have arrived in Italy by sea from January to July 17, according to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR. They were 93,540 in the same period of 2015.

Overall, the UNHCR registered over 241,000 new arrivals by sea (between Italy and Greece); at least 2,951 people were reported dead or missing. Endit