text: Almost 6,000 migrants were rescued in the Mediterranean over the weekend, as traffickers took advantage of clement weather and calmer seas to dispatch dozens of boats. Between Friday and Sunday 5,629 migrants were picked up in the Sicilian Channel. Italy is the first port of call for migrants seeking new lives in Europe. 160,000 made the journey last year, often on unseaworthy and overcrowded vessels. Nine bodies were recovered after a boat carrying more than 150 people capsized off the coast of Libya, the Italian coast guard said. 144 were rescued. Scroll down for video . Almost 6,000 migrants were rescued in the Mediterranean over the weekend, as traffickers took advantage of calmer seas. Above, the Italian coast guard attempts to help a migrant boat . The new tragedy emerged as statistics showed the number of migrants dying in the Mediterranean has increased ten-fold this year. At least 480 migrants lost their lives during crossings in the first three months of this year, compared with fewer than 50 fatalities during the same period last year, according to the International Organization for Migration. On Sunday alone, the coast guard coordinated the rescue of migrants from 22 different vessels. Four coast guard ships and aircraft, nine merchant ships and a naval ship took part in the rescues as well as an Icelandic patrol vessel and two Italian Coast Guard vessels participating in the Triton. A map showing the long and arduous journey that thousands of migrants undertake every year, many of which are hoping to get to Palerno or other Italian coastal destinations . Between Friday and Sunday 5,629 migrants were picked up in the Sicilian Channel, most of them on unseaworthy and overcrowded vessels . Nine bodies were recovered after a boat carrying more than 150 people capsized off the coast of Libya, the Italian coast guard said. Above, rescuers reach over to a migrant boat . Four paramedics wheel an ill female migrant on a stretcher after she was rescued from a merchant vessel and flown to Malta . Caritas in Sicily launched an urgent appeal for help from volunteers as 1,000 migrants were expected to disembark in Palermo. The UNHCR called for more help for Italy saying that EU states need to devote more resources urgently to strengthen the naval operations and rescue migrants trying to make the dangerous crossing. It praised the work of Italian authorities that saved thousands of lives over the weekend.
target: 160,000 people made same journey last year often on overcrowded vessels .
  Nine bodies recovered after boat carrying 150 people capsized near Libya .
  Number of migrants dying in the Mediterranean has increased ten-fold .