On Sunday morning, a boat carrying as many as 800 people capsized 60 miles off the Libyan coast. Only 28 people were pulled from the water alive and so far 24 bodies have been recovered.
 
This shocking news comes just days after 400 people drowned in a similar incident. So far more than 1,500 people have died in 2015 trying to reach Europe. This is already 30 times higher than the same period last year.
 
This tragedy should never have been allowed to happen. Every day, men, women and children from Syria, the Horn of Africa and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa are risking everything to flee from poverty and conflict. Crammed into unsafe boats by unscrupulous people smugglers, they make the dangerous crossing across the Mediterranean.
 
Search and rescue ships had been used to save those at risk of drowning but the EU scaled back the rescue effort in November last year.
 
European Leaders are meeting on Thursday to discuss the tragedy. We need your help to send an urgent message to restore full rescue operations and address the root causes that drive so many people to make this dangerous crossing.