TRIPOLI, Libya, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Swedish coast guard officials discovered dozens of bodies in the hull of a migrant ship Wednesday off the coast of Libya, authorities said.
The discovery underscores the ongoing danger refugees face escaping conflict-torn countries like Afghanistan, Syria and Libya and trying to reach Europe by boat.
Authorities said 50 bodies were found on the ship -- the very same vessel that nearly 450 others had been on before being rescued by a Swedish boat operating with the European Union's border agency Frontex.
Officials said the migrants died from dehydration or suffocation, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The Italian Coast Guard also received several distress calls from various migrants in rubber dinghies, wooden fishing boats and other vessels trying to transport refugees. Italian authorities said they rescued more than 100 migrants in the area.
Greek officials said Wednesday its crews had rescued nearly 600 migrants in the previous 24 hours from boats off the Aegean islands west of Turkey.
According to officials, nearly 300,000 people have migrated from the war-torn nations to Europe so far this year -- the biggest influx of refugees the continent has seen since World War II.
