Thirty people are missing and 17 have been rescued in the central Mediterranean after the boat in which they were travelling from Libya capsized in bad weather, Italy’s coast guard has said.
Rescue operations were ongoing, supported by merchant ships and aerial support by the European Union’s border agency Frontex, while two further merchant vessels were en route to the area, the coast guard said in a statement on Sunday.
Earlier on Sunday, the Mediterranea Saving Humans charity had tweeted that according to several sources, the vessel, travelling in the direction of Italy, had capsized about 177km (110 miles) northwest of Benghazi.
Alarm Phone – another charity, which picks up calls from migrant vessels in distress – said on Twitter that it had first alerted authorities on Saturday, emphasising that the boat, which was carrying 47 people, needed immediate rescue.
Source: Aljazeera
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