Boat carrying nearly 700 migrants capsizes near Libyan waters

Hundreds of people are feared dead after a boat carrying around 700 migrants capsized in waters near Libya on the night of April 18.

A boat carrying immigrants (left) in the Mediterranean Sea (Photo: Reuters)

The Times of Malta reported on April 19 that the tragedy occurred when the boat carrying migrants had just left Libyan waters and was nearly 200km from the Italian island of Lampedusa. So far, only 28 people have been rescued.

About 700 people on board the boat rushed to one side when a commercial vessel approached, causing the boat to capsize. The incident was similar to last week's migrant boat disaster, which killed 400 people and saved about 150. Many bodies washed up on the Libyan coast.

The number of boats carrying illegal migrants from Africa heading to Europe has increased in recent weeks as sea conditions have improved in the spring.

More than 300 people died in February while attempting to cross the sea in cold weather and rough seas. Last year, about 3,500 people died while attempting to cross the sea and up to 170,000 migrants reached Italy by sea./.

According to VOV