The rescue operation took place off the southern Italian coast. Three coastguard units transferred the migrants to another vessel, which will bring them ashore at the port of Augusta in Sicily, Reuters reported.
The migrants told the coastguard the body found was that of a migrant who had died several days earlier, the statement said.
The group of rescued migrants included 59 minors, many of them unaccompanied.
Italy has seen an increase in boat migrants in recent months with the government struggling to secure an agreement with European Union partners over how to deal with the influx.