More than 350 migrants have been rescued off the Libyan coast in the space of two days after their dinghies became stranded at sea.

SOS Mediterranee, a European maritime-humanitarian organization for the rescue of life at sea, says a total of 374 people have been rescued since Thursday, including 165 children of which 131 were unaccompanied.

Two rescue operations were carried out on Friday. Following an SOS signal, in the morning the Ocean Viking rescue ship picked up 149 people from two boats, including 58 children and four babies – one just a month old.

On Friday evening "106 people were rescued... in international waters 28 nautical miles [50 kilometers] from the Libyan coast," read a statement from SOS Mediterranee.

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"The majority of the people aboard an inflatable rubber dinghy were found intoxicated by oil fumes," it said. They came from Guinea, Sudan and Sierra Leone.

SOS Mediterranee said its calls for aid on Saturday afternoon to Libyan officials went unheeded and "we then asked Maltese and Italian maritime authorities for help."

Libya has become a key route for irregular migration to Europe since 2011. While many migrants have drowned at sea, thousands have been intercepted by the Libyan coastguard, which has been backed by Italy and the European Union, and returned to Libya, where many end up in detention.

The Ocean Viking took to the seas on January 11 after being blocked in Italy for five months before being released in December. Authorities had cited alleged safety issues for the holdup.

Ocean Viking is currently the sole rescue ship run by an NGO in the area, according to SOS Mediterranee's head, Sophie Beau, who said "the others have been blocked by Italian authorities like the Ocean Viking earlier."

Most migrants leave from Libya and Tunisia attempting a hazardous Mediterranean crossing to try to enter Europe through Italy. More than 1,200 died last year attempting the crossing.