6,500 migrants rescued off Libya in one day

An estimated 6,500 migrants have been rescued off the coast of Libya in a series of about 40 coordinated rescue missions, the Italian coastguard has said. 
The rescue operations, which also involved EU border agency Frontext and NGOs Proactiva Open Arms and Doctors Without Borders, took place some 20km from the Libyan town of Sabratha. 
Video footage published by the BBC showed migrants in unseaworthy vessels cheering at the sight of rescuers. Some leapt into the sea and swam towards rescue vessels. One boat had more than 700 migrants crammed on it.

"We've been particularly busy today," a spokesman for the Italian coastguard told reporters. 
Italy is believed to have received some 106,000 asylum seekers this year. Almost 3,000 men, women and children have drowned at sea while attempting to cross the Mediterranean, according to International Organization for Migration figures.