Brussels, May 24 (IANS): At least 20 migrants drowned on Wednesday after an inflatable boat carrying 500 people capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, the Italian Coast Guard said.
The tragedy occurred some 50 kilometres off the coast of Libya, when the dinghy was struck by a large wave and keeled to one side, causing 200 people to fall into the sea, Efe news reported.
The Coast Guard, along with a tow boat and a ship belonging to the Maltese NGO Migrant Offshore Aid Station, rescued some of the migrants from the sea and picked up those who remained on the raft. They also found 20 corpses floating in the water.
The vessel had departed on Tuesday night from the port city of Zuwara in northern Libya.
More than 50,000 migrants have reached Italy so far in 2017, a 46 percent increase compared to last year, according to data provided by the Italian Interior Ministry.
