Reuters
Rome, August 6: Hopes faded of finding survivors of the latest Mediterranean boat tragedy, in which an estimated 200 migrants drowned, and rescue ships were called to the aid of more migrant boats in the same area Thursday. Vessels from the Italian and Irish navies and humanitarian agency Medecins sans Frontiers (MSF) saved more than 370 people from a capsized boat thought to be carrying up to 600 Wednesday, the Italian coast guard said Thursday. They recovered 25 bodies but found no more survivors after scouring the waters overnight.
Initial reports put about 700 passengers on the overcrowded fishing boat but interviews with survivors – reduced that estimate and the figure could still change. Seas were very calm Thursday and already two rescue operations were underway near the site of the disaster, said a photographer aboard the privately funded Phoenix, a vessel run by MSF and the Migrant Offshore Aid Station. The capsized boat flipped over Wednesday as an Irish rescue vessel approached, probably because desperate passengers surged to one side as they spotted the ship, LE Niamh, on its way to help them.