http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/08/06/200-migrants-feared-dead-after-fishing-boat-capsizes-in-mediterranean/
200 migrants feared dead after fishing boat capsizes in Mediterranean
Published August 06, 2015
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[image: itmigrants98.jpg]
Aug. 5: The scene of the capsizing and sinking of a fishing boat crowded
with migrants is seen from the deck of the Dignity I MSF search and rescue
vessel which responded to the emergency in the Mediterranean sea off
Libya. (Marta
Soszynska/MSF via AP)
A fishing boat crowded with migrants overturned Wednesday in the
Mediterranean off Libya as rescuers approached, and the Italian coast guard
and Irish navy said at least 373 people were saved, although 25 bodies also
were found in the latest human smuggling tragedy.
Coast guard Cmdr. Filippo Marini said the rescue operation, involving seven
ships, was still underway several hours after the capsizing. Survivors
indicated that between 400 and 600 people were aboard the smugglers' boat,
he added.
"I fear the death toll will be around 200," Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesman
for International Organization for Migration, said, reported The Wall
Street Journal.
The Irish naval vessel Le Niamh was one of the ships tasked by the coast
guard to speed to the rescue of the boat shortly before noon, Irish Capt.
Donal Gallagher told The Associated Press by phone. The Le Niamh arrived
near the fishing boat, Marini said, and "at the sight of it, the migrants
shifted" to one side and their boat capsized.
An Irish Defense Forces statement said that when it reached the scene, the
Le Niamh deployed two rigid hull inflatable boats on either side of the
vessel "as per standard procedure. However, the vessel capsized." The Le
Niamh deployed life rafts and other rigid hulled boats, it added.
An Italian military helicopter dropped additional life rafts into the sea,
where 150 people were initially spotted, Gallagher said.
By evening, the Le Niamh had 367 people aboard, including 13 children, the
Irish military said.
Since the water was warm, rescuers worked with hope of finding more
survivors, even as dusk approached.
The vessel was reported to about 75 miles northwest of Tripoli, Libya's
capital. If it is determined that hundreds were crammed in the hold of the
iron fishing boat that overturned Wednesday, there is a real risk that many
of the migrants died trapped inside.
Also involved in Wednesday's rescue were an Italian vessel and a boat
operated by Doctors Without Borders.
Non-governmental organizations or cargo ships in the vicinity frequently
help rescue migrants, with operations coordinated by Italy's coast guard
and under the umbrella of a European Union task force known as Triton.
On Tuesday, the International Organization for Migration said nearly 2,000
migrants are believed to have died at sea since the start of this year, but
the exact toll isn't known.
Fleeing war, persecution and poverty, the migrants travel overland for
weeks or months from sub-Saharan Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Middle
East and parts of Asia to reach Libya. Once there, they set sail in flimsy
motorized rubber dinghies or rickety fishing boats. When the vessels have
problems, often someone aboard contacts the coast guard by satellite phone
to request rescue. Other boats in distress are spotted by Triton air
surveillance.
Most of the migrants hope to find asylum, relatives or jobs, mainly in
northern Europe.
*The Associated Press contributed to this report*
Received on Thu Aug 06 2015 - 21:32:56 EDT