Major rescue operation saves 6,000 migrants

Italian Coastguard say that more than 6,000 migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya on Monday in one of the biggest resuce missions ever carried out in one day.

Some 6,055 people travelling in 32 rubber dinghies, five boats and two rafts, were saved.

About 10 ships from the coast guard, the navy and humanitarian organizations were involved in the rescues, most of which took place some 30 miles off the coast of Libya.

File photo