Excerpt:
A British official says as many as half a million people in Libya are looking to cross the Mediterranean's perilous waters this summer to Europe in search of a better life.
Captain Nick Cooke-Priest said aboard the British warship HMS Bulwark, there are indications that as many as "450,000 to 500,000 migrants in Libya are waiting at the border" for the voyage across the Mediterranean.
On Sunday, Britain's Ministry of Defense said the Bulwark had been dispatched to rescue at least 500 migrants after a helicopter had identified four migrant vessels in distress.