At least 17 migrants died on a raft while attempting the Mediterranean Sea crossing from Libya to southern Italy, local reports said on Friday.

The migrants may have died from dehydration and hypothermia, according to first investigations, Rai state television said.

Their corpses were recovered south of Sicily Island by vessels of the Italian coastal guard and navy, which rescued 76 survivors. Search for possible missing migrants in the water was underway.

In a separate operation, Italian vessels rescued other around 200 migrants, Rai added.

Italy has had a growing inflow of migrants from troubled Africa and Middle East countries in the last two years.

Local authorities said thousand migrants have drowned while attempting the perilous crossing to reach the country, seen as a privileged gate to Europe.

An Italian search-and-rescue operation called Mare Nostrum saved from October 2013 to October 2014 more than 100,000 boat migrants, according to figures of the Italian Interior Ministry.

On Nov. 1, Mare Nostrum was replaced by the Triton operation of the European Union (EU)' Frontex border patrol agency. Italy decided to continue its maritime patrols for at least two more months, yet on a smaller scale. Endit

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