Agroup of migrants saved by the Aurora Sar NGO-run rescue ship said seven people were missing after falling into the sea amid rough waters in the southern Mediterranean during a crossing from North Africa.

The Aurora Sar docked at the Italian island of Lampedusa early on Wednesday.

The survivors, Eritreans, Ethiopians, Malaysians and Sudanese nationals, said the seven fell into the water due to the choppy conditions and could not be helped back into the dinghy they were aboard.

They said two ended up in the sea on the first night of the crossing, which had begun late on August 27 from Zuara in Libya, and five during the next.

The migrants said they paid 800 euros each for the crossing.

Photo: an archive image of a migrant-boat rescue.