TRIPOLI, June 23 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan navy on Friday recovered the bodies of five migrants and rescued 185 others in two separate operations off the coast of the town of Garrabulli, some 55 km east of capital Tripoli.
"Coast guards patrolling in the central region managed to rescue 94 illegal immigrants, and recovered the bodies of five others who were on a broken boat," navy spokesman, Ayob Qassem, told Xinhua.
"The operation took place 15 miles (about 24 km) off Garrabulli coast. The migrants were in a bad condition as their boat broke, water leaked into it, and some of them drowned in the sea," Qassem added.
The spokesman revealed that 91 illegal immigrants were rescued in the second patrol off Garrabulli coast.
The total number of immigrants rescued by the Libyan navy in less than a week has exceeded 1,000, and the bodies of 25 others have been recovered.
Libya is a preferred point of departure for illegal immigrants who want to cross the Mediterranean towards Europe, due to the state of insecurity and chaos in the country.
Improved weather conditions have increased the flows towards Europe.
