54 die crossing Mediterranean

Fifty four people trying to reach Italy from Libya died of thirst after a 15-day voyage in which their rubber boat was driven back from the Italian coast by strong winds. The tragedy is the latest in a long series of disasters which have killed thousands of migrants trying to reach Europe from North Africa in small, and often overcrowded, boats.

According to the UN spokeswoman Laura Boldrini, the sole survivor reported that 55 people boarded the boat in Libya in late June.

"He said that problems were immediately apparent on the boat, that unfortunately they weren't even allowed to take a bottle of water and so once they got lost and the voyage continued, people started to get sick and die because of the lack of water," she told SkyTG24 television.

"How is it possible that in a sea like the Mediterranean which is full of fishing boats, cargo ships, naval ships, these people were just like that left to their fate," she asked.

The survivor said over half of the dead were originally from Eritrea, including three members of his family. He is now recovering in a Tunisian hospital. According to the UN Refugee Agency, around 170 people have died so far this year trying to reach Europe from Libya.

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