Italy's navy says it has recovered 24 bodies from the latest capsize of a boat carrying migrants from Africa, as EU officials debated action over the perilous efforts to reach European shores.
More than 300 would-be immigrants have been killed in recent days in disasters at sea in the Mediterranean, many near Italy.
The 24 bodies were recovered after a fishing boat with nearly 400 people on board went down off Libya on Sunday evening.
Lifeboats dropped from a helicopter dispatched from the Italian island of Lampedusa enabled 364 people to survive, lifting to some 4000 the total number rescued over the course of what was a deadly weekend, according to navy figures.
Talks on the issue were being held in Rome Tuesday between officials representing Italy, the European Commission and Frontex, the European borders agency. Italian Interior minister Angelino Alfano is due in Brussels Wednesday for further discussions with Home Affairs Commissioner Ceilia Malmstroem.
A string of disasters has heightened the sense of crisis, with Malmstroem saying she was "appalled" by the recent tragedies.
On Friday, a wooden boat carrying at least 270 people sank off Guarabouli, Libya. Only 19 of those on board are known to have survived. The others, mostly migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are presumed to have perished.
On Sunday morning, an inflatable dinghy was found floating adrift off Lampedusa. Eighteen corpses were found along with 73 survivors.
In that case, Italian authorities have ordered autopsies to establish the exact causes of death as some of the corpses had injuries which appeared to have resulted from being struck with metal bars.
According to the UN refugee body UNHCR more than 100,000 migrants have reached Italy by boat since the start of the year.
Their risky journeys, mostly organised by people smugglers, have resulted in numerous sinkings and the loss of at least 1889 lives, the vast bulk of them in the last three months.
UNHCR sees the implosion of Libya as the primary factor driving the recent surge in numbers seeking to cross the Mediterranean, and urged EU governments to do more to address the crisis.
The refugees in Libya have made their way there from various strife-torn countries, most notably Eritrea, Syria and Somalia. Fleming said more were now being to arrive from northern Iraq.
Italy has accused its EU partners of turning a blind eye to the tragedies occurring off its southern shores.
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