Sunday 19 April 2015

Lampedusa migrant boat capsizes: Major rescue operation in Mediterranean launched as boat carrying 700 people overturns

Hundreds of people are feared dead after a boat carrying around 700 migrants capsized in the Mediterranean.
A major rescue operation has been launched by the Maltese Navy to save as many lives as possible after the tragedy struck at around midnight.

Italian ships and commercial boats have joined in the rescue effort, which was put in place after the large boat overturned in waters earlier today.
A total of 28 migrants have so far been rescued, but hundreds more are feared to have died.
The accident happened in Libyan waters – 130 miles off the Italian coast of Lampedusa.
It is thought the boat capsizes after migrants on board all went to one side of the boat as a merchant ship approached.
In 2013, more than 100 people died when a boat sank in a similar location.
A boat carrying 500 migrants from Somalia and Eritrea caught fire and sank, claiming the lives of 111 people - including a number of children.


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