Navy vessels rescue hundreds of migrants off Libyan coast

Naval vessels from Italy and Ireland rescued hundreds of migrants from smuggler boats in the Mediterranean, as ships from several countries, including Britain, coped Saturday with waves of people setting sail from Libya in human trafficking operations, ABC News reported.

Italian navy ship Driade rescued 560 migrants, including women and children, on Saturday in an hours-long operation after a smuggler's boat ran into problems, the navy said.

An Irish naval vessel, LE Eithne, rescued 310 people, including 39 minors, who were on a barge about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of the Libyan coast, the Irish Defense Forces said.

The LE Eithne on Friday had rescued 113 persons.

Among ships tasked with rescue duties was a British warship, the HMS Bulwark, which was steaming toward the area to help a number of migrant boats during the search and rescue mission, the British defense ministry said. Two British helicopters helped pinpoint migrant boats in distress.