More than 700 people have been rescued from boats carrying migrants and refugees off the coast of Italy since Friday.
Coastguards said four vessels loaded with people from Syria, Egypt, Eritrea, Nigeria and Ghana got into difficulty off Sicily.
Another boat was carrying 212 migrants including eight children and was being towed toward the tiny island of Lampedusa.
Two other boats carrying a total of 293 Syrians and Egyptians were also taken on Friday to Sicily.
Events in Syria and Egypt has resulted in an increase in the number of refugees attempting to reach Italy in recent months.
The BBC reports thousands of people have made the hazardous crossing from North Africa to Italy or Malta in open boats.
Italy has urged the EU to do more to share the burden of housing them.
