Private humanitarian organizations have saved over 100 people from the Mediterranean Sea in a single day.
The crew of the "Geo Barents" saved 80 people who were drifting in the sea on a rubber dinghy on Saturday morning, Doctors Without Borders announced on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Spanish rescue organization Open Arms said it had brought nearly 30 people to safety from an overcrowded wooden boat that was threatening to sink.
The boat had left from the Libyan coast.
More and more people are braving the dangerous crossing from northern Africa to Italy or Malta in an effort to reach the European Union, and in hope of a better life.
According to the Italian Interior Ministry, more than 5,470 migrants had arrived in boats on the Italian coast this year as of Thursday.
This is a slight increase on the year before, when around 5,300 had made the crossing by this time.
