A boat carrying migrants in the Mediterranean, February 12, 2015. Photo by Reuters
ROME (REUTERS, AFP) – As many as 700 people are feared dead after a boat carrying migrants capsized off the Libyan coast overnight, the Times of Malta reported on Sunday.
Twenty-eight people were rescued in the incident, which happened in an area just off Libyan waters, south of the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, the newspaper’s website reported.
The emergency was declared at about midnight local time. The boat was believed to have capsized when migrants moved to one side of the vessel to catch the attention of a passing merchant ship.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the boat was trying to reach Europe. Spokeswoman Carlotta Sami told the Skytg24 news channel that only 28 people survived and they said there had been more than 700 people on board.
A Maltese Navy spokesman told the BBC that Italian ships and commercial boats were also involved in the emergency operation.
The Times of Malta said the incident bore similarities to another last week when some 400 migrants were believed to have perished. Only about 150 people were rescued.
(This story is developing)
