ROME- Following a migrant boat capsizing last week, where at least 200 people met a watery grave, an inflatable dinghy also sank in the same area, a mile off the Libyan coast, on Wednesday, leading to the rescue of 52 migrants, with 50 feared dead.

The dinghy was said to be much like those used by people traffickers working on the Libyan coast: very rudimental, with a bottom composed of two wooden planks, and extremely overcrowded (with 100-120 passengers). The ill-fated boat had left at night from Libya, and soon began to deflate according to survivors.

Navy officials said that a helicopter from the Mimbelli Italian Navy ship spotted the troubled boat whilst on patrol in the area and immediately called the emergency rafts for the rescue operation. These rafts arrived at the scene in a matter of minutes, after having just completed another rescue mission involving 120 migrants. With no telephones on board, any cry for help had been futile until the Navy found them.

The Italian Navy were able to save 52 people on the sinking boat. The rescued migrants told the Navy that there were around 100 people on board the inflatable boat, and that the remaining migrants had been pulled away by the sea. The latest reports indicate that no more migrants, living or dead, have been found. Both the 120 saved prior and the 52 rescued are being transferred to Lampedusa, Sicily, by the Coast Guard. Italian Navy officials said that the Navy had to organise rescue missions for 1,700 people on Tuesday alone.

Reports say that there are no boats attempting a crossing of the Mediterranean from North Africa for now, due to unfavourable weather conditions and strong winds persisting until Friday, a fleeting alleviation of the current Europe migrant crisis.