UN warns of ‘crisis of solidarity’ after dead refugees found in a truck in Austria

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon has called for a “collective political response “ to “avert a crisis of solidarity”, two days after the bodies of 71 refugees were found in an abandoned truck on an Austrian motorway.

He said that “much more is required” to prevent the deaths of asylum seekers fleeing to Europe and called on European states to “expand safe and legal channels of migration”.

Around 200 other people are feared dead after two boats sank off the Libyan coast.

“I am horrified and heartbroken" at the latest loss of life,” Ban said. "A large majority of people undertaking these arduous and dangerous journeys are refugees fleeing from places such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The international community must also show greater determination in resolving conflicts and other problems that leave people little choice but to flee," he added.

The 71 migrants, thought to be Syrians, were discovered in abandoned truck in Austria close to the Hungarian border. The victims – 59 men, eight women and four children – are believed to have died after suffocating in the vehicle.

Hungarian police have arrested four people in connection to the case.

Ban called on nations to observe international law on asylum requests, and not to "force people to return to places from which they have fled if there is a well-founded fear of persecution.

“This is not only a matter of international law; it is also our duty as human beings,” he said. "This is a human tragedy that requires a determined collective political response. It is a crisis of solidarity, not a crisis of numbers."

He also urged for more action against human smugglers, a call echoed by White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

"The violence and instability in North Africa and the Middle East isn't just destabilising the immediate region but is starting to have a destabilising impact on other regions of the world too, including in Europe," Earnest said.

Around 200 people- the majority from Syria and African countries- are feared to have drowned after two boats capsized in the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday. Around 100 bodies have already been found and Libyan workers are continuing to search for the remaining 100 people who are still unaccounted for.

Some survivors were rescued having spent the night in the water, clinging to life jackets.

In a separate incident, Italian police detained 10 suspected human traffickers after 52 bodies were found in the hold of a ship off the Libyan coast on Wednesday.

A record 107,500 asylum seekers crossed into Europe last month alone, and UNCHR figures show that over 2,500 people have died trying to enter Europe in 2015 – not including Thursday’s deaths.

Tens of thousands of migrants from conflict-hit states in the Middle East and Africa have been trying to make their way to Europe in recent months.

A record number of 107,500 migrants crossed the EU's borders last month.

Some of them pay large sums of money to people smugglers to get them through borders illegally.

The UNHCR says more than 2,500 people have died trying to reach Europe so far in 2015, not including Thursday's deaths.