Volunteers working with naval forces and coast guards affiliated with the Libyan National Army rescued seven survivors during recovery operations near the coastal city of Tobruk, close to Libya’s border with Egypt, the Red Crescent said in a statement.

The group said the vessel had been stranded at sea for more than a week before rescue teams reached it. Security officials said they expected the bodies of the nine missing migrants to wash ashore in the coming days.Images released by the Red Crescent showed volunteers placing bodies in black plastic bags before loading them onto pickup trucks for transport.

Libya remains a major transit route for migrants, many from sub-Saharan Africa, attempting to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean in overcrowded and often unsafe boats after fleeing poverty, violence and political instability.

Shipwrecks and deaths along the central Mediterranean route remain frequent, with human rights groups and international agencies repeatedly warning about the risks posed by traffickers operating from Libya’s coast.

On Tuesday, Libya’s attorney general said Tripoli Criminal Court sentenced four members of a criminal gang based in the western city of Zuwara to prison terms of up to 22 years for human trafficking, kidnapping for ransom and torture.

In a separate case, the Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered the arrest of another trafficking group accused of sending migrants from Tobruk on a deteriorating vessel that later capsized, causing the deaths of 38 Sudanese, Egyptian and Ethiopian nationals, according to the attorney general.

Authorities said the gang had arranged the sea crossing despite the unsafe condition of the boat, adding to growing scrutiny of trafficking networks operating along Libya’s eastern and western coasts.

Libya has struggled for years to control migrant smuggling routes amid political fragmentation and weak law enforcement, with rival administrations and armed groups competing for influence across the country.

The survivors, who said their vessel had initially carried 105 people, were found clinging to the wreckage of an overturned boat before being taken aboard nearby ships, according to Mediterranea Saving Humans and Sea-Watch. The bodies and survivors were later transferred to an Italian coast guard patrol boat and brought to the island of Lampedusa.

Italy’s interior ministry declined to comment on the incident, while the Italian Coast Guard did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation. The rescue took place during Easter, a major holiday in Italy.

Footage released by Sea-Watch showed migrants struggling in open waters, with several individuals holding onto the partially submerged orange hull as rescuers approached.

The central Mediterranean route, one of the world’s deadliest migration corridors, has been further complicated this year by adverse weather conditions. Rough seas have reduced the number of departures from North Africa but increased the risks for those attempting the journey.

The International Organization for Migration estimates that at least 683 people have died along the central Mediterranean route so far this year, marking one of the highest death tolls recorded since 2014.