No fewer than 200 migrants believed to have set off from the coasts of Libya and Tunisia had been rescued in the central Mediterranean Sea in several operations.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced on Monday that the crew of the Geo Barents vessel took almost 190 people on board where the migrants had been on an overcrowded wooden boat.
The report said there was a lack of oxygen below deck.
Also, on Sunday, the volunteers of the private Italian organisation ResQ saved dozens of people in several operations.
Among the refugees were many women and minors.
After the rescue, the crew of the ResQ People vessel had about 165 people on board, and were demanding a safe location for them to go ashore.
Most migrants set off from the coasts of Libya and Tunisia to reach the European Union via the Mediterranean.
According to the Interior Ministry, Italy saw a doubling of the number of migrants reaching the Mediterranean country in boats within a year.
Between August 1, 2020, and July 31, 2021, authorities registered a total of 49,280 people arriving on Italian shores.
This represented an increase of 128 per cent year-on-year from 21,616.
A total of 147 traffickers were arrested, representing an increase of 25 per cent.
