Twenty-five migrant men and women were found dead at the bottom of a rubber boat in the Mediterranean, and 107 survivors were rescued from the same craft, Aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said.

The bodies were discovered late yesterday.

MSF's Mediterranean rescue unit said on Twitter: "23 of the rescued people had horrific chemical burns, seven were so severely injured that they needed to be evacuated to Italy, two by helicopter".

More than 3,500 people have died or disappeared trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa this year, the International Organization for Migration estimates.

Rescuers plucked 500 migrants from overcrowded boats to safety on Tuesday, Italy's coast guard said.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.