The Italian navy found 11 dead migrants on boats headed across the Mediterranean to Europe on Friday and saved some 570 others as numerous rescue operations were underway.

Authorities discovered the bodies after the Italian patrol ship Bettica rescued 86 migrants from two inflatable boats, the navy announced on Twitter.

The Italian navy's press office was not able to say how the people died, but authorities have previously noted the numerous risks to migrants including dehydration, asphyxiation due to fuel fumes, extreme temperatures and violence.

Another patrol ship led the rescue of two other migrant boats that included 484 people.

Italy's coast guard said multiple rescue operations were underway on Friday, without elaborating.

Since the start of the year more than 40,400 migrants have arrived in Italy, but around 1,770 people have died or disappeared while attempting the Mediterranean crossing, said the International Organization for Migration.

After a string of deadly shipwrecks that sparked global alarm, European Union ministers this month approved plans for a military operation to fight people smugglers in the Mediterranean. Proposals to destroy traffickers' boats in Libyan waters still need UN approval.

The European Commission has also unveiled plans to make the rest of the 28-nation EU share the burden of frontline states such as Italy, Greece and Malta when it comes to taking in migrants, although some countries like Britain are opposed.
Source: AFP