ROME (AA) – Italian sources say 45 bodies have been recovered by the country’s navy from the site of an accident in the Sicilian Strait of the Mediterranean Sea.

According to Italian news agency ANSA, the navy recovered the bodies of the refugees who drowned on Friday, while dozens of others are still missing after the third deadly accident in the Mediterranean in the last three days.

One-hundred-and-thirty-five other refugees were taken from a boat which was about to capsize.

[Migrants in a capsized boat are rescued by Bettica and Bergamini ships of Italian Navy at Sicilian Strait, between Libya and Italy, in Mediterranean sea on May 25, 2016.  (Photograph: Italian Navy / Marina Militare – Anadolu Agency )]

Thousands of refugees were rescued from Mediterranean waters on Thursday.

It is expected that 890 refugees will be brought to Catania city on the east coast of Sicily on Saturday.

8,000 refugees have been rescued from the Mediterranean in the last 48 hours.

According to the International Organization for Migration, nearly 179,000 refugees have arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean so far this year. Over 730 are thought to have died en route or are missing. More than one million arrived by sea last year.

Additonal reporting by The Muslim News

[Photo: Migrants in an overcrowded boat, which was about to capsize, are rescued by Bettica and Bergamini ships of Italian Navy at Sicilian Strait, between Libya and Italy, in Mediterranean sea on May 25, 2016. Photographer: Italian Navy / Marina Militare/AA]