Official: More than 110 bodies recovered off Libya coast

The bodies of more than 110 migrants have been recovered after their boat capsized off the Libyan coast, a spokesman for the Libyan navy said Friday.

Col. Ayoub Gassim told The Associated Press that at least 104 bodies were retrieved from waters near the city of Zwara in western Libya. He said the death toll is expected to rise.

Libyan coast guards found the empty boat on Thursday, Gassim said. He blamed Europe for “doing nothing but counting bodies” to stop people setting sail for its shores from Libya.

Hundreds of migrants were rescued from a sinking boat in the Mediterranean Sea in a separate incident Friday.

Greece’s coast guard said 340 people were rescued and four bodies were recovered from the vessel that was sinking in international waters about 75 nautical miles south of the Greek island of Crete, the AP reported. It wasn't immediately clear where the boat set sail from.The Greek coast guard said 242 survivors were being taken to Turkey on a merchant ship that helped in the rescue, the AP said.

Two patrol boats, two helicopters and four ships were deployed in the rescue operation.

Growing migrant deaths provoke tears, desperation for families left behind

The incidents come after hundreds of migrants died in the Mediterranean in recent days. As summer and warmer weather approaches, more people fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East are risking their lives to reach Europe.

The number of people heading to Europe from North Africa rose after the European Union struck a deal with Turkey in March to deport refugees crossing the Aegean Sea back to Turkey, and after the closure of the Balkan route that many Middle Eastern refugees used to reach northern Europe.

On Tuesday, the United Nations refugee agency said at least 880 people died in the last week after the vessels they were aboard capsized in the Mediterranean, bringing the total number of deaths so far this year to 2,510 at the time.