Over 80 migrants die as boat sinks off Sicily; hundreds missing . . . . . . . . . At least 82 people have died after a boat carrying African migrants sank off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa. Although more than 140 have been rescued, hundreds are missing; the boat is believed to have been carrying as many as 500 people, meaning some 260 are still unaccounted for. Passengers were from Eritrea, Ghana and Somalia, and the incident is one of the deadliest migrant shipwrecks in recent times and the second one this week off Italy. Passengers reportedly threw themselves into the sea after the boat caught fire; rescue operations continue, the Italian coast guard said. The UN refugee agency says 8,400 migrants landed in Italy and Malta in the first six months of the year, double the number of refugees arriving during the first half of 2012. The number has been rising fast in recent weeks, particularly with the arrival of Syrian refugees who seek asylum in Italy. #egyptyard
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 16:24:34 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015