NGO rescues nearly 100 migrants in Mediterranean

Fifteen injured migrants and their families were heading for Italy on Friday (July 30) after being transferred from the Sea-Watch 3 rescue ship to an Italian Coast Guard vessel.

The Sea-Watch 3, owned by a German charity, rescued nearly 100 migrants from boats in the Mediterranean overnight on Thursday.

Many were injured with severe "fuel burns" that were caused by exposure to gasoline mixed with sea water.

Others suffered burns after a fire broke out on their boat.

Late on Thursday, Sea-Watch 3 rescued 33 migrants from two boats which had been intercepted by the Libyan coast guard, according to the NGO.

In a second operation at dawn on Friday, the same boat rescued over 60 people from an overcrowded wooden boat within the Libyan search and rescue zone.

Migrant boat departures from Libya and Tunisia to Italy and other parts of Europe have increased in recent months with better weather.

According to the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration, more than 1,100 people fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East have perished this year in the Mediterranean.