The Italian Prime Minister has said his country is “at war” with people traffickers, the BBC reports.

Matteo Renzi made the comments has called on the EU to take urgent action to aid his country in tackling the crisis of migrants drowning in the Mediterranean. The EU will hold an emergency summit to discuss the problem, in Brussels tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Italy’s defence Minister has said the EU should consider military intervention.

Following the deaths of 800 people on Sunday, 1,750 people have now drowned attempting to cross the Mediterranean from Africa and the Middle East, to Europe. This is roughly 30 times the equivalent figure in 2014.