Heartbreaking photos of dead and rescued African immigrants who lost the battle trying to cross to Europe by sea have been made public.
The pain is etched upon this mother's face after being rescued along with 167 others trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea
Horrifying photographs showing pregnant women and children among dead migrants found in a rubber dinghy has shone a light on the grim reality of the desperate scramble to cross the Mediterranean into Europe,
Dailymail has reported.
The dead bodies were found by a Spanish charity. About 167 migrants were found alive and 13 dead. The people rescue was don with rubber boats.
More than 2,200 migrants have died trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean so far this year according to the International Organization for Migration - meaning on average 10 people a day die making the journey.
The European Union has extended the mandate of its naval operation targeting migrant smuggling in the Mediterranean until the end of 2018 and tasked it with monitoring illegal oil trafficking from Libya.
Operation Sophia, which has naval ships and aircraft monitoring the Mediterranean, aims to disrupt smuggling networks and train Libya's coastguard as a way of stemming the flow of desperate migrants attempting the risky crossing from Libya to Italy in unseaworthy boats.