Refugees in the Mediterranean
Photo: EPA
Migrant boat capsizes off Egypt, killing at least 29
A boat filled with refugees of different nationalities capsized off the shore of Egypt; at least 29 are reported dead and 150 have been rescued, as hundreds remain missing.
A boat carrying around 600 migrants has capsized off the Egyptian coast, killing at least 29 people, security sources and local officials told Reuters on Wednesday.
"An illegal migration boat has capsized off the coast of Kafr al-Sheiklh carrying 600 migrants in the largest illegal migration operation through the Kafr al-Sheikh coast so far," state news agency MENA quoted a local official as saying.
Refugees in the Mediterranean (Photo Archive: AFP)
According to MENA, rescue workers have saved 150 people. Health Ministry official Alaa Osman from the Egyptian Beheira province says that 155 people have been rescued, but that bodies are still being found in the area. The boat was reportedly carrying Egyptian, Syrian and African migrants.
Thousands of illegal migrants have made the dangerous sea voyage across the Mediterranean in recent years fleeing war and poverty, mostly via lawless Libya. Thousands have drowned along the way.
