A ship overturned on Wednesday off Libya’s coast with more than 500 migrants aboard, as the Italian navy was approaching for rescue.
Crews recovered seven bodies but saved more than 500 people who were thrown into the sea.
The Italian navy said its Bettica patrol ship was responding to a migrant ship in distress when it flipped. Migrants scrambled up the side of the overturned ship, perching precariously on the exposed side as they awaited rescue, with hundreds more floating in the sea.
Crews tossed life jackets to those in the water.
Rescue operations off Libya’s coast have increased in recent weeks amid calm seas and warm weather – conditions that encourage smugglers to crowd hundreds of would-be refugees onto unseaworthy boats for the trip to Europe.