Italy rescues 381 people, moments before their boat sinks

(supersedes previous)(ANSA) - Palermo, August 6 - The Italian Coast Guard on Thursday rescued 381 migrants - including 55 women and 26 children from Syria, Bangladesh and Sub-Saharan Africa - off a boat that run into trouble about 15 miles north of where a fishing boat carrying about 600 people capsized on Wednesday. The Fiorillo Coast Guard cutter was in the area as part of a search and rescue mission for those missing from the boat wreck the previous day. The boat the migrants were traveling on sank immediately after today's rescue operation. Also on Thursday, an Irish Navy ship brought 25 recovered bodies and 367 survivors of Wednesday's shipwreck to Palermo port. Of the survivors, 24 are women and 13 are minors. An additional six asylum seekers were helicoptered to hospital. As well, a ship run by Doctors Without Borders humanitarian NGO rescued 97 people off an inflatable dinghy 20 nautical miles north of Libya, then headed in aid of another vessel in distress.
    That second operation, which also involved other ships, resulted in the rescue of 613 people.
    Further, the Italian Navy saved 101 people who were on board another inflatable dinghy.
    This brings to about 1,200 the number of people rescued on Thursday off the Libyan coast in various operations coordinated by the Italian Coast Guard.