Red Crescent: 17 dead off the coast of Libya

It is not clear what nationality the dead or rescued were, but the Red Crescent says that, together with the UN refugee agency UNHCR, it helped survivors, which indicates that the people were migrants.

The boat is reported to have been in distress at sea for eight days.

With parts of Italy around 300 kilometers from Libya, the country has become a common destination for tens of thousands of migrants who risk their lives at sea every year to reach Europe.