LE Niamh drops off rescued migrants at Sicily - including remains of 14 dead

Crew Members of the LE Niamh carry remains from the vessel Credit: Irish Defence Forces

There were the remains of 14 bodies removed from a wooden barge Credit: Irish Defence Forces

A crew member of the LE Niamh holds a migrant child Credit: Irish Defence Forces

thumbnail: Crew Members of the LE Niamh carry remains from the vessel Credit: Irish Defence Forces
thumbnail: There were the remains of 14 bodies removed from a wooden barge Credit: Irish Defence Forces
thumbnail: A crew member of the LE Niamh holds a migrant child Credit: Irish Defence Forces
Independent.ie Newsdesk

The LÉ Niamh has dropped off 453 migrants as well as the remains of 14 bodies found by the vessel's crew.

The bodies were found among an estimated 500 migrants on board a wooden barge 80Km off the Libyan coast.

There were the remains of 14 bodies removed from a wooden barge Credit: Irish Defence Forces

The Irish navy vessel removed the remains from the boat as well as 210 migrants, including 35 children.

The crew brought the remains and the migrants, including another 243 rescued from a previous mission, to Messina, Sicily today.

The latest mission brings the total amount of migrants rescued by the navy vessel to 1280 in almost two weeks.

Earlier this week, Captain David Barry said that the ship would not be investigating the events surrounding the discovery of the remains:

“We have to maintain care and control on board the ship, so we do not get involved in investigations - we leave these to the Italian authorities,” he said.