EUROPEAN states must resume saving lives in the central Mediterranean, a refugee-rescue organisation urged today before disembarking more than 370 people in Italy.

The Ocean Viking, a rescue ship operated by SOS Mediterranee, rescued 374 people from four boats in distress off the coast of Libya at the weekend.

The Italian coastguard evacuated a heavily pregnant woman from the ship on Saturday.

Then on Sunday, the maritime authorities instructed the crew to head to Augusta on the Italian island of Sicily and disembark the remaining refugees there.

“After weeks of bad weather, conditions off the Libyan coast improved earlier this week, which led to numerous departures of people trying to flee across the central Mediterranean on unseaworthy, overcrowded boats," search-and-rescue co-ordinator Luisa Albera said.

"Reports of shipwrecks and interceptions by the Libyan coastguard came in as the team on the Ocean Viking, the only civil rescue ship at sea this week, was engaged in intense search-and-rescue operations."

She said that worsening weather conditions in the past two days had been extremely hard for the survivors.

"Knowing we have numerous babies and small children on board who were especially struggling with seasickness, we feared another lengthy stand-off with no solution in sight, as we experienced in the past,” Ms Albera said.  

“While we are relieved for the 373 people on our ship, we insist again that a return to an effective co-ordination of state-led search and rescue in the central Mediterranean is vital. Lives depend on it.”

“And while civil society is filling this void, EU member states must find a sustainable solution for a swift and predictable disembarkation mechanism, supporting European coastal states and working to uphold maritime law at our common southern shores.”

At least 17 people died in a shipwreck off the coast of Libya on Sunday night, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said yesterday. The United Nations-affiliated organisation said that its staff were at the disembarkation point in Tripoli when 82 survivors of the wreck were returned by the coastguard.

Another refugee boat carrying about 45 people who had left Libya at the weekend reached the Italian island of Lampedusa today.

According to the latest IOM figures, 469 people have been returned to Libya so far this month, 12 have died in the central Mediterranean and 67 people are missing.