Some 40 migrants died yesterday morning after they were trapped and suffocated in the water-logged hold of a boat off the coast of Libya.

The victims are thought to have suffocated after inhaling fumes from fuel when the boat took on water in the hold, the captain of the navy ship leading the rescue told Italian state television.

Commander Massimo Tozzi told Reuters that when his men boarded the migrant boat they found the dead in the hold “immersed in water, fuel and human excrement”.

Still, the ship Cigala Fulgosi took on more than 300 survivors, including women and children, from the scene of the incident, around 21 nautical miles off Libya.

The vessel was first spotted by a drone operated from the Malta-based Migrant Offshore Aid Station vessel at about 8.10am.

Either the international community does something to resolve the situation or this will not be the last tragedy

According to reports, the Italian vessel arrived at the scene around an hour later. As rescuers started pulling people to safety, some migrants alerted them that a number of people were unconscious near the engine.

Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said yesterday: “Either the international community does something to resolve the Libyan situation or this will not be the last tragedy.”

In total, some 650 migrants were rescued yesterday alone, in multiple operations off the Libyan coast.

A migrant rescued by an Italian Navy helicopter last Tuesday after he was found clinging to a barrel.

In one such operation, the MOAS vessel Phoenix rescued 201 migrants, including 11 women and eight children. A MOAS spokesman said the Phoenix was redirected to the site of the incident, in close proximity to the first, after being informed that the Italian rescue vessel was better placed to coordinate the rescue.

More than 2,100 migrants are believed to have drowned in the Mediterranean this year, as they attempt to flee conflict-ridden Libya towards Europe. The International Organisation for Migration said the number of migrants who have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year is approaching a quarter of a million, compared with 219,000 for all of last year.

Malta will be hosting a summit between EU and African leaders in November aimed at trying to draw up a common strategy to try reduce the migration flow and the constant incidents at sea.