Rome, May 4 (RHC)-- Italy says thousands of migrants have been rescued over the weekend in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya amid a surge in the number of people crossing the sea.

The Italian coastguard and navy said on Sunday that some 4,800 migrants were saved over the weekend and 10 bodies were recovered in what is said to be the biggest rescue mission of its kind so far this year. According to reports, about 10 Italian vessels, including four private boats and a French ship, took part in the rescue operation off the coasts of Libya.

The private Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) said on its Twitter page that it had saved 369 migrants, mostly from Eritrea, on Sunday alone.

More than 800 people died on April 19, when a single migrant boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, in what was described as the deadliest incident recorded in the Mediterranean by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)