Bodies of 21 women, one man found on migrant boat in Mediterranean: MSF

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An MSF ship patrolling the Mediterranean came across two dinghies in distress and rescued 209 people, including 50 children. 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 traumatized 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.

"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"

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 2,500 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.

As of Monday, 79,861 migrants had arrived in Italy by sea so far in 2016 compared with 83,119 during the same period of last year. Almost 3,000 boat migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean this year, according to the International Organization for Migration.

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Angus MacSwan)