600 Med Migrants Rescued

A Norwegian ship rescued more than 600 migrants from two wooden boats on Monday in the southern part of the Mediterranean, the Norwegian police said on Twitter.

All migrants picked by the ship, the Siem Pilot, were healthy, including several pregnant women, the Norwegian authorities said.
 
Thousands of migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East have died trying to cross the Mediterranean, mostly heading for Italy.

European Union leaders agreed in April to boost naval search mission in the Mediterranean after a boat sank and as many as 900 migrants died off the coast of Libya.

The Siem Pilot is part of the EU's operation off Italy. It was originally built to supply oil platforms in the North Sea.

Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis