At least 75 migrants are feared to have died while trying to cross the Mediterranean from Libya,according to various reports. Five were rescued by the Guardia di Finanza near Lampedusa earlier today after their dinghy was reported by a Malta-based Frontex aircraft having a multinational crew, including the AFM.

The survivors said there had been 75 people on the dinghy when it set off from Libya some 20 days ago.

All five survivors were in poor health, with a man and a woman in critical condition.

The Italian UNHCR office said the migrants had said that calls for help were ignored by passing vessels except one which gave them some water.

A spokesman for the AFM said a Frontex patrol plane with a multinational crew including the AFM had yesterday spotted a dinghy carrying migrants, but it was not in distress and had been proceeding northward. Its position was reported.

The spokesman also said that a Malta-based German helicopter on a Frontex mission had sighted seven bodies in the water since Tuesday. All were in the Libyan rescue zone.

One was spotted on Tuesday, four this morning and two this afternoon.

It could not be established if they had been on the dinghy.