Athens, on Friday a smuggling boat carrying mainly African migrants sank into the Mediterranean in which more than 110 were dead. A separate massive search-and-rescue operation in the open sea saved 340 people and recovered nine bodies.

As traffickers take advantage of the improving weather, officials say it is impossible to know how many unseaworthy boats are being launching daily from Libya to Europe - and how many never reach their target. 

In Libya, at least 117 bodies - 75 women, six children and 36 men - were pulled out from the waters near the western city of Zwara, Mohammed al-Mosrati, a spokesman for Libya’s Red Crescent said. 

All but a few were from African countries. 

The death toll was expected to rise. 

Al-Mos ratio fthe Red Crescent said the bodies were not “decomposed and therefore have drowned within the past 48 hours.” 

He said the boat that was found might have been the one carrying the victims.

But strong winds and currents can push bodies from one place to the other, he said, making it difficult for authorities to determine where the tragedy occurred. 

Often the first signs of a tragedy are either a may-day call from one of the passengers to European authorities or the macabre discovery of bodies washing up on shores.