Rescuers pull 300 migrants from 2 boats off the Libyan coast

Sub-Saharan migrants crowd a rubber boat as they are rescued by members of Proactive Open Arms NGO, in the Mediterranean sea, about 22 miles north of Zumarah, Libya, on Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. Tens of thousands of people seeking better lives are expected to trek across deserts and board unseaworthy boats in war-torn Libya this year in a desperate effort to reach European shores by way of Italy. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Rescuers pulled nearly 300 people from two rubber boats in waters off the Libyan coast on Friday and were looking for 100 more believed to be on a another boat missing since Sunday.

Thousands fleeing violence or looking for better opportunities in Europe have already taken to the sea this month, braving the winter weather. Many more are expected as temperatures rise.

The U.N. refugee agency says that 247 people are known to have died or disappeared in the Mediterranean so far in January.

Rescuers from the Spanish organization Proactiva Open Arms found Friday’s boats traveling 24 miles (40 kilometers) north of Sabratha, in the Libyan cost.

Laura Lanuza, a spokeswoman with the Spanish NGO, said the 299 sub-Saharan migrants were in good health and would be transferred to a port in Sicily.

Check out the pictures:

Sub-Saharan migrants wait inside a rubber boat to be rescued by members of Proactive Open Arms NGO, in the Mediterranean sea, about 24 miles north of Sabratha, Libya, on Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. Tens of thousands of people seeking better lives are expected to trek across deserts and board unseaworthy boats in war-torn Libya this year in a desperate effort to reach European shores by way of Italy. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Sub-Saharan migrants are rescued from a rubber boat by members of Proactive Open Arms NGO, in the Mediterranean sea, about 24 miles north of Sabratha, Libya, on Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. Tens of thousands of people seeking better lives are expected to trek across deserts and board unseaworthy boats in war-torn Libya this year in a desperate effort to reach European shores by way of Italy. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Wrapped in blankets, Sub-Saharan migrants sit on the deck of the Golfo Azzurro boat after their rescue from a rubber boat by members of Proactive Open Arms organization in the Mediterranean sea, about 24 miles north of Sabratha, Libya, on Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. Tens of thousands of people seeking better lives are expected to trek across deserts and aboard unseaworthy boats from war-torn Libya this year in a desperate effort to reach European shores by way of Italy. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Sub-Saharan migrants sit on the deck of the Golfo Azzurro boat after being rescued from a rubber boat by members of Proactive Open Arms NGO, in the Mediterranean sea, about 24 miles north of Sabratha, Libya, on Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. Tens of thousands of people seeking better lives are expected to trek across deserts and board unseaworthy boats in war-torn Libya this year in a desperate effort to reach European shores by way of Italy. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A Sub-Saharan migrant prays on the deck of the Golfo Azzurro boat after being rescued from a rubber boat by members of Proactive Open Arms NGO, in the Mediterranean sea, about 24 miles north of Sabratha, Libya, on Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. Tens of thousands of people seeking better lives are expected to trek across deserts and board unseaworthy boats in war-torn Libya this year in a desperate effort to reach European shores by way of Italy. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Sub-Saharan migrants wait in a crowded rubber boat to be rescued by members of Proactive Open Arms NGO, in the Mediterranean sea, about 22 miles north of Zumarah, Libya, on Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. Tens of thousands of people seeking better lives are expected to trek across deserts and board unseaworthy boats in war-torn Libya this year in a desperate effort to reach European shores by way of Italy. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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