700+ migrants missing or feared dead in Mediterranean shipwrecks
At least 65 migrants have died from shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea in the past week. And with hundreds still missing, officials fear the death toll could soar above 700.
Most of the victims were on three ill-fated boats.
About 100 people remain missing Sunday after a boat capsized Wednesday, said Federico Fossi, spokesman for the United Nations' refugee agency. Five people died in that disaster; more than 560 survived.
ISIS infiltrates the migrant route in Libya 01:48
On Thursday, another migrant boat capsized and sank. Of the 670 on board, 15 people died, about 104 survived and roughly 550 remain missing, Fossi said.
Migrants: By the numbers
194,611: Migrants who have arrived in Europe so far this year*
156,157: Migrants who arrived in Greece in 2016
37,363: Migrants who arrived in Italy in 2016
1,475: Migrants who died trying to cross the Mediterranean this year
*As of May 25, 2016
Source: International Organization for Migration
And on Friday, another migrant boat started taking in water. It's not clear how many people were on board, but at least 45 people died.
Eating toothpaste, avoiding gangs: Why migrants head to Mediterranean
Fossi said most of the migrants were from Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan. ManySomalians are trying to escape Al-Shabaab and clan warfare; Eritreans want to flee repression or military service. And in Sudan, pockets of fighting will likely continue in parts of Darfur through next year, displacing many refugees, the U.N. refugee agency predicts.
The deaths mark the latest wave of fatalities involving migrants boarding crowded boats in a desperate attempt to reach Europe.
At least 1,475 migrants have died so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration. But that number could skyrocket if the roughly 650 missing are confirmed dead.
Trapped and dying: No help for terminally ill Syrian boy
But the situation could have been much worse. More than 12,000 migrants were rescued from the Mediterranean in the past week, the Italian Navy, Coast Guard and Interior Ministry said.
An Italian Red Cross worker holds a rescued migrant baby who arrived in Messina, Italy.
News Courtesy: www.cnn.com
