730 refugees saved near Libya, 2 refugees die of cold weather

730 refugees were saved near Libya over the past 24 hours, and 2 refugees died due to the cold weather.

Italian Coast Guard launched an operation after it identified 5 rubber boats and 5 ships leaving the Libyan coast. Non-governmental organizations such as SOS Mediterranean and Doctors Without Borders rescued all of the 730 refugees that fell into the sea, but failed to rescue two women refugees in one of the boats. Doctors Without Border announced on Twitter that two women had died due to the cold weather. The refugees and aid groups headed for Italy on Sunday.

Officials state that more than 173 thousand refugees reached the shores of Italy during 2016, and this figure represents an increase of 12 percent compared to 2015. According to the United Nations, more than 4700 refugees died or disappeared as they tried to cross the Mediterranean this year.