Rescuers saved around 2,300 migrants from rubber and wooden boats in the central Mediterranean on Thursday, but also recovered two dead bodies, the Italian coast guard said.
As summer approaches, growing numbers of migrants have been attempting the perilous crossing to Europe in rubber dinghies and rickety boats from lawless Libya, where people smugglers operate with impunity.
More than 4,000 people have been plucked from boats in the Mediterranean in the last two days alone, and more than 9,000 in the last eight days.