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Born at Sea: Migrant Gives Birth Aboard Navy Ship After Rescue

A migrant rescued by the Italian Navy gave birth while still aboard the navy ship.
A newborn baby sleeps aboard the the Italian Navy ship "Bettica" in an image tweeted by the Italian Navy Ship. The baby was born aboard the ship after its mother, a migrant, was rescued.
A newborn baby sleeps aboard the the Italian Navy ship "Bettica" in an image tweeted by the Italian Navy Ship. The baby was born aboard the ship after its mother, a migrant, was rescued.Italian Navy
/ Source: NBC News

A newborn baby sleeps aboard the the Italian Navy ship "Bettica" in an image tweeted Monday by the Italian Navy. The infant was born aboard the ship after its mother was rescued along with thousands of other migrants this weekend.

Nearly 5,800 migrants were plucked from boats off the coast of Libya and 10 bodies were recovered in less than 48 hours in one of the biggest rescue operations this year, Italy's coast guard said. Two weeks after nearly 900 migrants drowned in the worst Mediterranean shipwreck in living memory, the flow of people desperate to reach Europe has accelerated as people smugglers take advantage of calmer seas.

--NBC News and The Associated Press