A ceremony commemorates the migrants who drowned off the island of Lampedusa in Agrigento on October 21, 2013.
A ceremony commemorates the migrants who drowned off the island of Lampedusa in Agrigento on October 21, 2013.
MARCELLO PATERNOSTRO/AFP/Getty Images
CNN  — 

More than 1,100 asylum seekers have been rescued off the coast of Italy, the nation’s navy said in a statement.

Some 100 migrants stand on the Guardia Costiera boat after being rescued off the shores of the island of Lampedusa on October 25, 2013. Two boats with other 219 migrants were picked up by Italian Navy ships deployed in Italy's new Mare Nostrum search-and-rescue operation, launched after more than 400 migrants drowned in two disasters earlier this month. Nearly 700 refugees were rescued off Sicily in several operations as European leaders grapple with the issue of illegal immigration at a European Union summit. AFP PHOTO / FILIPPO MONTEFORTEFILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images
Some 100 migrants stand on the Guardia Costiera boat after being rescued off the shores of the island of Lampedusa on October 25, 2013. Two boats with other 219 migrants were picked up by Italian Navy ships deployed in Italy's new Mare Nostrum search-and-rescue operation, launched after more than 400 migrants drowned in two disasters earlier this month. Nearly 700 refugees were rescued off Sicily in several operations as European leaders grapple with the issue of illegal immigration at a European Union summit. AFP PHOTO / FILIPPO MONTEFORTEFILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images
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Related video 2013: Migrants rescued off Italian coast

Patrol choppers saw the overcrowded rafts, and four navy vessels rescued those on board Wednesday.

Officials believe the asylum seekers were from sub-Saharan Africa. About 50 children were on board.

All of the passengers are en route to the port of Augusta, were they are expected to arrive Friday.

READ: Italian navy rescues 233 migrants from Mediterranean boat

PHOTOS: Pope Francis holds mass on Lampedusa