The humanitarian rescue boat has rescued 396 migrants from a dangerous overcrowded wooden boat.

According to Reuters, two humanitarian rescue ships rescued 394 migrants from a dangerous overcrowded wooden boat in the Mediterranean. The operation lasted about six hours.

The German and French NGO ships Sea-Watch 3 and Ocean Viking rescued migrants in Tunisian waters 68 kilometers (42 miles) off the coast of North Africa, close to oil facilities and other ships, overnight on Sunday.

Sea-Watch 3 assumed command of the operation and took 141 survivors, while Ocean Viking took the rest. Nadir, a yacht from the German NGO ResQ Ship, later provided support.

It is not yet clear whether the immigrants on the ship have suffered casualties. The deck and interior of the wooden boat are crowded with immigrants.

A Reuters witness said that the ship was entering water and the engine was not working.

NGO ships have rescued people in distress at sea Earlier this week. After rescue operations earlier in the weekend, by Sunday night, the Ocean Viking alone had about 555 people on board.

A spokesperson said that the ship is now full and needs to find a safe port as soon as possible, and pointed out that among the rescued was a three-month-old baby.

After being rescued on a small wooden boat in the international waters off the coast of Libya, the immigrants on the Sea-Watch rigid hull inflatable boat arrived at the Sea-Watch 3 ship of the German NGO [Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters]

The Berlin-based organization Sea-Watch called the current situation in the Mediterranean “extremely critical.”

Sea-Watch 3 also carried dozens of people. The six people were taken away by the Italian Coast Guard due to poor health.

On Sunday, the ship carried another 26 people, bringing the total number of people on board to approximately 250 people.

As weather conditions improve, the number of migrant ships departing from Libya and Tunisia to Italy and other parts of Europe has increased in recent months.

According to the International Organization for Migration under the United Nations, more than 1,100 people fled conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East this year and died in the Mediterranean.

The crossing points of European Union countries via the central Mediterranean are dangerous, and overcrowded ships are often in distress at sea.

Witnesses from Reuters said that in this latest rescue, many migrants were seen jumping off the boat and trying to swim to Sea-Watch 3.

The immigrants are mainly men from Morocco, Bangladesh, Egypt and Syria.

Private rescue organizations criticized these migrants for being repeatedly intercepted by the coast guards of various countries and taken back to Libya, for example, where they were threatened with violence.