Photos show a four-day-old baby girl from Nigeria being rescued by a Spanish aid agency after she and more than 200 others were found in a dinghy drifting in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya. Those rescued were mainly from Ghana, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Proactiva Open Arms rescue
A four day old baby girl sleeps aboard the former fishing trawler Golfo Azzurro Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
Proactiva Open Arms rescue
A Spanish rescuer is seen aboard an overcrowded plastic raft, as its towed by a rescue RHIB, during a search and rescue operation Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

The crew members abroad the 'Golfo Azzurro', the rescue vessel of the Spanish aid organisation Proactiva Open Arms, spotted two overcrowded rubber boats floating at sea, 22 nautical miles north of the Libyan town of Sabratha. A rescue operation was launched and a rescue speedboat was sent to the area. Rescuers distributed life jackets to the people on-board, before tugging one of the rubber boats to 'Golfo Azzuro', a former fishing trawler.

Proactiva Open Arms rescue
Over 100 people sit on a plastic raft during a search and rescue operation by Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms in the Mediterranean Sea Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
Proactiva Open Arms rescue
A rescuer tries to find his balance before taking a four-day-old baby girl into a RHIB, during a search and rescue operation by Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms, in the Mediterranean Sea Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
Proactiva Open Arms rescue
A Spanish rescuer hands over a four-day-old baby girl to a woman during a search and rescue operation Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
Proactiva Open Arms rescue
A Nigerian woman holds her four day old baby girl while aboard the former fishing trawler Golfo Azzurro, about thirty-two hours after her rescue Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
Proactiva Open Arms rescue
A Nigerian woman holds a baby girl while the baby's mother rests with her other child, aboard the former fishing trawler Golfo Azzurro about thirty-two hours after their rescue Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

On 23 March five dead people were pulled from the sea off the coast of Libya in another rescue operation by the same organisation. So far this year nearly 650 people have died trying to reach Italy from North Africa, the International Migration Organization (IOM) estimates. This comes after some 4,600 deaths last year.

Libya has asked the European Union to provide it with ships and radars to help its forces stop the smuggling of people wishing to migrate across the Mediterranean, sources in Brussels said on Thursday (30 March).

Proactiva Open Arms rescue
A Spanish rescuer carries a child into a RHIB during a search and rescue operation Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
Proactiva Open Arms rescue
A Spanish rescuer gives instructions Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
Proactiva Open Arms rescue
An overcrowded plastic raft carrying over 100 people is seen drifting ahead of the former fishing trawler Golfo Azzurro Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
Proactiva Open Arms rescue
People from Bangladesh are seen aboard the former fishing trawler Golfo Azzurro, following their rescue Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
Proactiva Open Arms rescue
An Italian medic checks a mans temperature as people wait to be processed by authorities in the port of Augusta Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
Proactiva Open Arms rescue
Men line up as they wait to be processed by Italian authorities aboard the former fishing trawler Golfo Azzurro moored in the port of Augusta Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
Proactiva Open Arms rescue
People line up as they wait to be processed by Italian authorities aboard the former fishing trawler Golfo Azzurro moored in the port of Augusta Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
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