The bodies of 21 women and one man have been found on a rubber dinghy adrift in the central Mediterranean, humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres says.
An MSF ship patrolling the Mediterranean came across two dinghies in distress and rescued 209 people, including 50 children on Wednesday. The 22 bodies were retrieved from one of the dinghies.
"When our team approached the first dinghy, they saw dead bodies lying at the bottom of the boat in a pool of fuel," Jens Pagotto, MSF Head of Mission for Search and Rescue Operations, said in a statement.
"The survivors had been on the boat with the bodies of these women for hours on end. Many are too traumatised from what they have endured to be able to talk about what had happened. It's still unclear exactly how these women died."
An MSF spokeswoman said the dinghies were found in international waters not far from Libya.
Italian authorities have reported a jump in the number of migrants, many of them Africans, who have left Libya this week on overcrowded boats bound for Italy, as people smugglers take advantage of calm seas and hot summer weather.
More than 2500 migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya on Tuesday and one dead body was recovered, Italy's coast guard said. Almost 600 people were saved on Wednesday.
Migrants are fleeing war and poverty in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Meanwhile, Australia's Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has filmed a video telling people smugglers the coalition has been returned to power and will turn their boats around.
The minister's two-minute message will be sent around the world, warning the government will continue its tough border protection policy.
"Our policy has not and will not change," Mr Dutton says in the video, News Corp reported today.
- Reuters and AAP
