The bodies of at least 43 people thought to be asylum seekers have washed up on Libyan beaches east of the capital Tripoli on the weekend, the Red Crescent says.

Key points: The bodies of at least 43 asylum seekers wash up on a beach in Libya

The bodies of at least 43 asylum seekers wash up on a beach in Libya Libya's poorly patrolled coastline is a popular jumping off point for asylum seekers looking to reach Europe

Libya's poorly patrolled coastline is a popular jumping off point for asylum seekers looking to reach Europe A record 48,000 refugees and migrants arrived this week in Greece, most of them in Lesbos

A record 48,000 refugees and migrants arrived this week in Greece, most of them in Lesbos The discovery of the bodies came as European Union and Balkan leaders struggled to reduce tensions over how to deal with the asylum seeker crisis

Twenty-nine bodies were found Saturday on beaches around the port of Zliten, while another 14 were discovered on Sunday on a beach near the port of Khoms.

"Residents told us about bodies on the beaches around Zliten," Red Crescent spokesman Mohamed al-Misrati said.

"We discovered 25 bodies, then another four."

Mr Misrati did not give any further details about the nationality of the deceased, but the Tripoli authorities' official news agency reported that they were from Africa.

On Wednesday, six bodies, among them two women and one child, were discovered on a beach in the town of Guarabouli.

The North African country, with its 1,770 kilometres of poorly patrolled coastline, is a popular jumping off point for asylum seekers seeking to reach Europe.

The most popular destination is the Italian island of Lampedusa, barely 300 kilometres away.

In Greece, at least three asylum seekers — two children and a woman — drowned on Sunday when their boat sank off the island of Lesbos, the coastguard said.

Around a dozen others, mostly Afghans, are still missing after the rickety vessel, carrying 60 people, went down at dawn as it made the perilous crossing from Turkey, according to the Greek coastguard.

Many of those crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece do not know how to swim and are often equipped with poor-quality life vests, the coastguard said.

A patrol boat and a helicopter operated by European border agency Frontex found the lifeless bodies of the woman and two children.

Another search operation that began on Saturday night, aimed at finding a two-year-old Afghan boy who fell into the water somewhere between Turkey and Lesbos, has so far proven fruitless.

Despite worsening weather that has made the journey from Turkey to Greece even more dangerous, a record 48,000 asylum seekers arrived this week in Greece, most of them in Lesbos, the International Organization for Migration said on Friday.

Balkan leaders struggle to defuse tensions

Tens of thousands of asylum seekers have entered Slovenia in recent days. ( Reuters: Leonhard Foeger )

The discovery of the bodies came as European Union and Balkan leaders struggled to reduce tensions over how to tackle the asylum seeker crisis.

A number of Balkan states have threatened to close their borders if European Union members in northern Europe stop accepting asylum seekers streaming north from Greece and Macedonia.

More than 670,000 people have landed on European shores this year — many of them fleeing violence in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan — in the continent's worst migration crisis since World War II.

Some 3,000 people have died making the dangerous Mediterranean sea crossing.

The mini summit, called by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, grouped the heads of 10 EU nations, including German chancellor Angela Merkel, plus the leaders of non-EU Albania, Serbia and Macedonia.

"This is an important opportunity to have them around one table," European Council president Donald Tusk told reporters in Brussels.

"Today we need a dialogue and talks among Balkan leaders to avoid unnecessary possible misunderstandings and tensions in the whole region."

But Serbia's prime minister, Aleksandar Vucic, revealed progress was slow.

"I'm not sure that we're going to conclude something that will be very helpful immediately," he said.

"But I'm sure that at least we understood each other and that we will be ready to take actions jointly in the future."

There have been scenes of chaos and suffering as asylum seekers in their thousands make the gruelling journey up from Greek beaches through eastern Europe, heading for Germany and other wealthy northern EU countries.

Fears are rising that the crisis is threatening the cherished Schengen system of borderless travel, one of the bedrock achievements of a united Europe.

Faced with a huge influx heading north, Hungary has closed off its borders with Serbia and Croatia.

Tiny Slovenia has now threatened to build border fences if it does not receive help, having become the main entry point to the Schengen zone following Hungary's clampdown.

Slovenian prime minister Miro Cerar called on neighbour Croatia not to continue pushing asylum seekers onward to Slovenia on their way to other countries in the EU.

Slovenia, with a population of 2 million, has been swamped by more than 60,000 asylum seekers in a matter of days.

Amnesty International has warned of a humanitarian crisis if asylum seekers are stranded at borders. ( Reuters: Ognen Teofilovski )

AFP