A charity rescue ship picked up 76 migrants on an overloaded wooden boat in the Mediterranean and was headed for the southern Italian port of Naples, the charity said on Saturday.
There were seven women and 24 children among the 76 people picked up in international waters in the Maltese Search and Rescue zone on Friday night, the charity EMERGENCY NGO said.
Crammed on deck, they waved and cheered as an EMERGENCY crew came into view in a rubber dinghy launched from the main rescue ship.
The 12-metre boat carrying the migrants had set sail from Libya late on Thursday and those rescued were from Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Syria, it added.
Italian authorities helped to coordinate the rescue and the charity boat, the Life Support, is expected to reach Naples on Monday.