AN AID group said on Saturday that it recovered the bodies of 11 migrants off the Libyan coast and transferred them to an Italian coastguard ship off Lampedusa island, where thousands are trying to reach from north Africa.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said that its Geo Barents rescue ship had recovered the bodies following a search operation that lasted more than nine hours, after being alerted by German humanitarian organisation Sea Watch, which also rescues migrants at sea.

The German group said that it was unclear whether the migrants were victims of a previous shipwreck, saying they had tried to contact Libya’s coastguard to recover the bodies but received no reply.

During Saturday’s mission, the Sea Watch crew also discovered another body.

“As we cannot determine the reason behind this tragedy, we know that people will continue to take dangerous routes in a desperate attempt to reach safety, and Europe must find safe and legal pathways for them,” MSF wrote in a post on X.

The MSF vessel was ordered to transport the other 165 people onboard, who were rescued during its Mediterranean operations, to the northern port of Genoa. The group complained that the decision would significantly delay assistance to migrants.

In 2023, more than 3,000 people went missing on the central Mediterranean route, according to the International Organisation for Migration.