Spanish aid workers rescue 218 migrants in the Med in one day, including newborn baby

Proactiva Open Arms, which works off the coasts of Greece, Italy, Malta and Libya, detected a blow-up boat in trouble around 22 miles off the coast of Sabratha, in the latter country, carrying would-be immigrants from north and central Africa, Yemen and Sri Lanka.

Of the total of 480 refugees saved on Saturday alone, nearly half of them were rescued by Spaniards working for Proactiva.

They included a Nigerian woman and a man from Ghana, along with their baby daughter, who had not long been born.

“Four days of life for this little girl – a future ahead of her and all of our care to help,” tweeted charity founder Oscar Camps.

The massive rescue took place across two operations for the Spanish aid workers in what was a very long day, but a triumphant one in which Proactiva volunteers congratulated themselves and each other.

Since the start of 2017, nearly 600 migrants have lost their lives attempting to reach the coast of Italy alone, according to the International Migrations Organisation (OIM).

Last year, 181,000 migrants made it to Italy, but 4,600 others died on the journey.

Photograph: Proactiva Open Arms on Twitter