Spanish charity rescues 117 migrants sailing from Libya

FILE PHOTO: Migrants disembark from Open Arms rescue boat after arriving at Messina port, Sicily, Italy August 27, 2022. REUTERS/Juan Medina/File Photo

ROME (Reuters) - Spanish charity Open Arms said it rescued 117 migrants on Saturday crowded onto a precarious wooden boat from Libya in the latest such perilous crossing over the Mediterranean sea.

Last week's shipwreck off Greece, killing at least 78 among hundreds packed onto a fishing boat, has shone a light once again on the deaths of thousands of migrants each year fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa and the Middle East.