The private charity Sea-Watch has rescued more than 90 migrants from distress at sea in the central Mediterranean.
The crew of the Sea-Watch 3 vessel plucked the people from an unseaworthy double-decker wooden boat as they sailed south of the Italian island of Lampedusa, the Berlin-based group said on Friday.
This was the Sea-Watch 3's first rescue since the crew set off Wednesday on their latest mission.
Doctors Without Borders reported a similar incident on Friday, when the team on its Geo Barents ship picked up some 100 people from a wooden boat.
It was the eighth rescue mission since that ship set out on its mission in the Mediterranean in mid-December. Almost 560 people are now on board and the crew is seeking a port to dock at.
Another private rescue ship with hundreds of migrants on board, the Ocean Viking, had been awaiting permission to disembark their rescued passengers for days. It was given the OK to dock in Sicily on Friday evening.
The migrants are largely aiming to reach Italy after setting sail from North Africa on crowded, rickety boats. They often pay people smugglers to arrange their perilous crossing.
The private rescue operations are politically controversial, with critics saying they are effectively aiding people smugglers.
The organizations say they abide by international law and argue that the European Union has failed to protect these desperate people.
As of Friday, the Italian Interior Ministry registered more than 64,600 migrants who had reached Italy by boat this year. In the same period last year, there were around 34,100.
