The 7m wooden boat was spotted 48km off the coast of Libya.

The migrants  were taken aboard the Mission Lifeline – captained by Paul Chamberlain, a charity worker from Norfolk.

They were lucky not be taken by the Libyan coastguard which would have transported them to one of the detention centers housing more than 18 000 people.

African and European leaders were outraged this week at reports that some of these detainees are being sold into slavery.

The Libyan coastguard has rescued more than 13 000 people this year and recovered 433 bodies.

The number of migrants arriving from Africa in Europe  – mostly Italy -this year exceeds 160 000.

That less than half the number who made the hazardous crossing last year.

The post 43 migrants rescued by British humanitarian workers off Libyan coast appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.