A total 778 migrants were assisted in a chaotic night of operations that continued well into the early hours of the morning by the Phoenix and Responder, two vessels operated by a joint MOAS/Red Cross mission off the Libyan coast. Three bodies were also recovered.

As it sailed south towards its area of operation yesterday, the Phoenix had already received alerts from Rome about 11 rubber boats that were dangerously overcrowded.

On reaching its area of operation, the Phoenix crew rushed to assist an Italian vessel in the rescue of a large wooden boat carrying more than 1,000 people.

Three bodies, of two men and a woman - all probably under the age of 25 - were recovered from the vessel’s hold. 403 people were rescued or transferred to the MOAS vessel.

Meanwhile, the Responder assisted a number of other search-and-rescue assets throughout the night. The vessel, run in a joint operation by MOAS-CRI, welcomed on board 375 migrants.

Due to persistent bad weather over the past week which had prevented people from crossing for several days, large numbers of people amassed on the Libyan coast over Monday and Tuesday, with around 72 vessels departing within short distances of each other.

More than 10,000 people have been rescued over the past 48 hours. Yet despite best efforts, 28 bodies were reported to have been recovered over the past 48 hours. The true extent of numbers lost can never be confirmed.

Both MOAS vessels are currently sailing north towards Italy to disembark the rescued migrants.

The Phoenix will arrive in Corigliano Calabro early on Saturday, while the Responder is expected to arrive in Cagliari on Friday morning.