A boat carrying migrants headed for Europe has capsized off the coast of Egypt killing at least 42 people, with over 400 still missing.
Egyptian authorities say the vessel held about 600 passengers of which just over 150 have so far been rescued. Local official Alaa Osman from Beheira province said the migrants were from several African countries. He told AP 155 people had been rescued so far and taken to hospitals but that bodies were still being pulled from the water.
Only 155 rescued from a boat holding up to 600 migrants Crammed with Egyptian, Syrian and African migrants, the boat is thought to have got into trouble 12 nautical miles off the coast of Kafr al-Sheik, after leaving the port of Rashid, near the city of Alexandria. The number of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Egypt to Europe has risen significantly in the past year, according to EU border Agency Frontex.
More than 12,000 migrants arrived in Italy from Egypt between January and September, compared to 7,000 in the same period last year, it claimed. People smugglers in Egypt are believed to be using old fishing vessels, packed with people both below and above deck, to make the hazardous journey.
New and more dangerous smuggling attempts to reach Europe by riskier routes have led to a spike in the number of migrants dying as they attempt to cross the Mediterranean, the International Organization for Migration said in a report last month.
Different routes, particularly from Egypt, are longer and riskier, leading to search and rescue efforts often being carried out farther away from land. The International Organization for Migration estimates 2,901 people died or disappeared crossing the Mediterranean in the first six months of 2016, a 37 percent increase over the first six months of last year.