Nine migrants die crossing Mediterranean Sea, ten missing, over 1, 000 rescued

More than 1,000 migrants crossing Mediterranean Sea to Europe landed Italy Saturday after being rescued by the European Union rescue team and the Italian Red Cross in a 24-hour operation.

However, bodies of nine people were found in the sea and ten others were still missing, according to local media reports.

The migrants reportedly came from Syria, Libya and other African nations including Nigeria and Ghana.

On Friday, some 800 migrants were rescued from a wooden barge crossing the Mediterranean when some 20 boats were stopped by the Irish Navy. The Irish vessel LE Samuel Beckett rescued more than 700 migrants during a search and rescue operation off the coast of Tripoli, Libya.

Italy's interior ministry said on Friday that over 146,500 migrants had landed in the country since the beginning of this year.

（APD）