Italian coast guards and local fisherman saved all 528 refugees on a boat from Libya early Sunday after their vessel hit rocks off the island of Lampedusa, an operation one rescuer described as a "miracle".
Refugees threw themselves into the water in the night, with some clinging to ropes strung between the rusty fishing boat and the shoreline by rescuers, as officers and local residents dived in to help along the rocky coast.
"There were about 500 people on board. It was a difficult situation. Our patrol boats couldn't come close because of the shallow water and the undertow was very strong," said Antonio Morana, a coast guard spokesman.
Coast guards later said 528 had been on board, including 24 pregnant women.
Many refugees were later seen wrapped in thermal blankets on the rocks and in temporary housing in the port in footage released by coast guards.
"The sea was rough and it was pushing the boat towards the coast," said one coast guard, Davide Miserendino.
Local residents brought food and clothes for the survivors and a Ghanaian woman with a baby called Wisdom was given diapers and toys. A few of the refugees suffered slight injuries and have been hospitalised.
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