Ocean Viking rescuers pick up hundreds of migrants off Libya

Over 350 migrants have been rescued off the Libyan coast by the Ocean Viking humanitarian vessel in just two days, a French NGO running the boat said yesterday. 

SOS Mediterranee said that "106 people were rescued ... in international waters 28 nautical miles (50 kms) from the Libyan coast" on Friday evening.

"The majority of the people aboard an inflatable rubber dinghy were found intoxicated by oil fumes," it said. They came from Guinea, Sudan and Sierra Leone.

On Friday morning, the Ocean Viking picked up 149 people from two boats following an SOS signal, including 58 minors and four babies -- one just a month old, it said.

Since Thursday, a total of 374 people have been rescued by the Ocean Viking, of whom 165 are children, SOS Mediterranee said.