Dhaka: EU leaders are due to hold an emergency summit on Thursday to discuss ways to stem the flow of refugees trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean, reports the BBC.

A draft statement for the Brussels meeting says leaders will commit to ‘undertake systematic efforts to identify, capture, and destroy vessels before they are used by traffickers’.

EU leaders are also expected to pledge additional funding for sea patrols as well as offering assets such as boats.

The talks in Brussels were convened after more than 800 people drowned off Libya's coast on 19 April, bringing the number of deaths this year to 1,750, AFP reported.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has called for direct action against Libya-based smugglers.

Rome says 90% of the migrant boats ending up on its shores set off from Libya.