UNITED Nations migration spokeswoman Safa Msheli hit out at the inaction of the international community yesterday after more than 100 people drowned after a rubber boat capsized off Libya.

Rescue efforts were launched by NGO ship the Ocean Viking and three merchant vessels on Thursday.

“Since we arrived on scene today, we have not found any survivors while we could see at least 10 bodies in the vicinity of the wreck. We are heartbroken,” said Luisa Albera, spokeswoman for the SOS Mediterranee charity, which operates the Ocean Viking.

International Organisation for Migration spokesman Eugenio Ambrosi confirmed that more than 100 people had died.

“These are the human consequences of policies which fail to uphold international law and the most basic of humanitarian imperatives,” he said.

Some 17,000 migrants have died while trying to cross the central Mediterranean to reach Europe. At least 350 have drowned this year alone.

Ms Msheli condemned global bodies including the European Union, which has reportedly spent more than €90 million (£78m) on funding and training the Libyan coastguard to stop the crossings.

“States stood defiant and refused to act to save the lives of more than 100 people,” she said. “[The migrants] pleaded and sent distress calls for two days before they drowned in the blue Mediterranean cemetery. Is this Europe's legacy?”