Coastguards on the island of Lampedusa in Italy have found the bodies of 25 men on a boatload of refugees fleeing Libya.
They were found in the boat's engine room and appear to have died from asphyxiation.
The boat was carrying nearly 300 people and had set sail from Libya two days before.
Thousands of refugees from North Africa have arrived on the island in recent weeks.
The coastguard boarded the boat at around 1.20am on Monday and discovered the bodies.
The BBC reports most of the dead are believed to be from countries including Somalia, Nigeria and Ghana.
Lampedusa is the biggest gateway to the European Union for refugees from North Africa, with tens of thousands fleeing the war in Libya.
An estimated 250 refugees drowned when their boat capsized off the island in April.
The UN estimates that one in 10 refugees never make it, dying on the way from exposure, or thirst, or from drowning when their boats capsize.
