700 Feared Dead As Boat Carrying Migrants Capsizes Off Libyan Coast
19 April, Tripoli
A United Nations official said Sunday that as many as 700 people are feared dead after a boat carrying migrants capsized off the Libyan coast overnight. Twenty eight people were rescued in the incident, which occurred near Libyan waters, 130 miles south of the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.
A massive rescue operation involving Italian ships, the Maltese Navy and commercial vessels has been launched and 28 people had been rescued when reports last came in.