(VOVworld) - Thousands of migrants are "racing against the clock" to make the perilous crossing from Libya to Europe, while the Libyan authorities fail to stem the flow due to limited human resources.

Rescuers approached a migrant's boat off Libyan coast on August 18. (Photo:EPA/VNA)

Abdel Hamid al-Souei of Libya's Red Crescent said improved weather had triggered this week's mass exodus. In the last four days, around 13,000 asylum seekers were rescued from flimsy boats in the Mediterranean. Most of the migrants are from the Horn of Africa and western Africa. Seeking a better life in Europe, these migrants set out on their journey from Libya’s coastal town of Sabratha, just 300 kilometres from the Italian island of Lampedusa.