A Spanish maritime rescue group helped pull some 40 people from the Mediterranean after their overcrowded wooden boat capsized during a rescue operation.

The group Open Arms tweeted that all the passengers survived and were transferred to an Italian coast guard ship on Thursday.

The group said the passengers, who included two children, were from Eritrea and Sudan.

The rescue took place in high winds and rough seas south of the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, which is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland and is often the destination of choice for migrant-smuggling operations based in Libya.

The Open Arms says it has rescued more than 26,500 people since 2015.