50 people found dead in a boat with migrants in the coast of Libya

About 50 bodies were found in the hull of a migrant boat that was rescued off Libya’s northern coast on Wednesday, adding to the more than 2,400 people who have perished at sea this year making the Mediterranean crossing to Europe.

Italy’s coastguard says the Swedish ship Poseidon, which is taking part in the EU’s Triton Mediterranean operation, rescued 439 people from the ship.

The rescue was one of 10 such missions currently taking place in the waters off Libya. It was not immediately clear how the migrants found by the Poseidon had died.

Earlier in August, the Italian navy discovered another boat capsized in the Mediterranean, where 400 were rescued and at least 25 bodies recovered.
European officials have described the plight of migrants, almost 250,000 of whom have crossed by boat to the continent this year, as "beyond urgent".

The toll was similar to the estimated 40 migrants who died, apparently from fuel fumes, on 15 August.

Those migrants were thought to have died of asphyxiation. Survivors later testified that smugglers had forced them to remain in the hold.

Smugglers based in Libya are believed to be taking advantage of calmer seas to send more boatloads of migrants towards European shores

Migrants by the tens of thousands are braving the perilous journey across the Mediterranean this year, hoping to reach Europe and be granted asylum. They are fleeing war, persecution and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

The European Commission approved 2.4 billion euros of aid over six years for countries including Greece and Italy that have struggled to cope with a surge in numbers of immigrants.