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Desperate men, women and children from across Africa and the Middle East launched from the Libyan coast in five separate boats to escape hardship in their homeland. Packed inside wooden vessels and floating on makeshift rafts those hoping to seek refuge in the European Union were spotted floating in international waters. The first rescues took place late Thursday when 130 people were saved by Vos Prudence, a rescue ship run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

EXPRESS Nearly 1,000 migrants leave Libya bound for Europe in just 24 hours

Today we been on a rescue operation involving one rubber boat and four wooden boats Guillermo Canardo

The same ship made another rescue at 5.30am on Friday when 136 were taken aboard. Just hours later a migrant-packed rubber boat, purpose built by sick smugglers making millions out of desperation, was located by the MSCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Center) in Rome. Charities and NGOs rushed to the scene to prevent mass panic and death, while officials from the EU – who vowed to stop dangerous crossing – were nowhere to be seen, nor was the coastguard awarded £78miliion for the job. Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms led the charge with its experienced crew of lifeguards, doctors and sailors.

EXPRESS Some experts believe crossings could hit more than 6,000 per day

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Two RHIB boats sped towards the raft, offering lifejackets to all inside, while other NGOs including MSF arrived shortly afterwards. Thousands of crossings are expected in the coming months with estimates for the numbers reaching Italy hitting 500,000 for 2017. Some experts believe crossings could hit more than 6,000 per day, while the EU is attempting to stop crossings, keeping people in Libya where rape, torture and murder are daily occurrences and a black slave market is active for Arab families. Head of the Mission for Open Arms, Guillermo Canardo, said the NGO was called for one boat, when four more arrived.

He said: "Today we been on a rescue operation involving one rubber boat and four wooden boats. "We started the rescue operations at 9am local time after receiving a call from MSCC Rome telling us about a boat arriving to the 12 mile line. "We decided to send two fast RHIBs to the closest point of the border and then we found one rubber boat with 136 onboard. "While we were working with that boat we saw four other targets around four or five miles away to the south east of our position.

EXPRESS Men, women and children from across Africa and the Middle East in five separate boats

"Each had around 100 people onboard." Proactiva saved 596 lives, taking them onboard Vos Prudence which then sailed for Italy. Despite there being a British Border Force boat in the area, and trained coastguards, paid by the EU, there was no sign of any officials during all rescues. The decision to turn boats around to corrupt Libya has been met with fierce criticism for its lack of consideration over the mass human rights abuses taking place in Libya.

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