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| Fears for hundreds of migrants after fishing boat capsizes off Libya | Fears for hundreds of migrants after fishing boat capsizes off Libya |
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| Hundreds of migrants attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean are feared to have drowned after their overcrowded fishing boat capsized off Libya, Italy’s coastguard said on Wednesday. | Hundreds of migrants attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean are feared to have drowned after their overcrowded fishing boat capsized off Libya, Italy’s coastguard said on Wednesday. |
| A boat thought to be carrying about 600 people had run into difficulty 15 nautical miles off Libya and sent out a distress call, picked up by the coastguard in Catania in Sicily. | |
| Two vessels – the Médecins Sans Frontières ship Dignity I and Irish patrol vessel Le Niamh – were immediately dispatched to the scene, but the boat capsized after the migrants all rushed to one side in anticipation of being rescued, the coastguard told AFP. | |
| MSF said many people had died: | |
| The team on the #Dignity1 can confirm that there have tragically been many deaths but does not have figures at this stage | |
| An Irish naval official told the Associated Press that about 150 migrants were spotted in the water. | An Irish naval official told the Associated Press that about 150 migrants were spotted in the water. |
| Nawal Soufi, an Arabic-speaking Italian based in Sicily who is often contacted by migrants in distress, told AFP she had taken a call earlier on Wednesday about a boat in trouble with 600 people on board. | Nawal Soufi, an Arabic-speaking Italian based in Sicily who is often contacted by migrants in distress, told AFP she had taken a call earlier on Wednesday about a boat in trouble with 600 people on board. |
| “It is probably the same boat,” coastguard spokesman Filippo Marini said, raising fears that hundreds of people may have drowned. | “It is probably the same boat,” coastguard spokesman Filippo Marini said, raising fears that hundreds of people may have drowned. |
| A spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency UNHCR said 16 people had been confirmed dead: | |
| Just in: Boat carrying 600 capsized off Libya. So far, 250 rescued, 16 dead. Worried for the others. Italian Coast Guard coordinating rescue | |
| Three other ships have been sent to the area to search for survivors. | Three other ships have been sent to the area to search for survivors. |
| Non-governmental organisations often join in migrant sea rescue operations, which are coordinated by Italy’s coastguard and are now under the umbrella of a European Union task force known as Triton. Last October, the EU opted not to replace the Italian-run operation Mare Nostrum, which saved about 100,000 lives last year, amid fears that it was encouraging smugglers and migrants to organise more trips to Europe. | |
| More than 2,000 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe this year, according to the International Organisation for Migration. | More than 2,000 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe this year, according to the International Organisation for Migration. |
| In April, a boat crammed with an estimated 800 migrants overturned, also off Libya’s coast, where smugglers operate. Only 28 survivors, including two alleged smugglers, were found. | |
| Migrants travel overland for weeks or months from sub-Saharan Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia to reach Libya. There they set sail in flimsy motorised rubber dinghies or rickety old fishing boats. When the boats have problems, someone aboard contacts the coastguard by satellite phone requesting rescue. Other boats in distress are spotted by Triton air surveillance. | |
| Agence France-Presse and Associated Press contributed to this report |