Some 1,350 migrants and refugees were saved in the Central Mediterranean in the last 24 hours, the Italian coast guard said on Thursday.

Overally, 12 operations were carried out by ships from Italy's navy and coast guard, along with vessels from two humanitarian groups.

All of the people were rescued while sailing aboard one barge, five inflatable crafts and six small boats, the coast guard said in a statement.

One body was also found aboard one of the inflatable crafts, rescuers added.

Italy has remained on the frontline of Europe's migration crisis throughout 2016, and the inflow of people seeking refuge from the African coasts have kept growing this year, according to the latest data.

In fact, some 24,280 migrants and refugees arrived in Italy from Jan.1 to March 31, marking a 29.3 percent increase against the same period of 2016, the Interior Ministry recently stated.

Compared with arrivals registered in the first three months of 2015, the figure marked a 138.9 percent rise.

The latest rescue missions in the Mediterranean Sea included some 480 people saved on April 1, and another 295 saved in the following days and brought to Italian ports on April 4.

Currently, Italy hosts 176,523 migrants and asylum seekers, according to the ministry. The majority of them -- or 137,855 people -- are housed in temporary facilities.

Some 23,800 are hosted in shelters managed by municipalities within the national asylum seekers protection network, while another 13,385 asylum seekers are in first accommodation centres.

A remaining group of about 1,400 migrants are hosted in hotspots across the country, where they would go through the identification process.


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