Rome: The number of migrants asphyxiated in the hold of an overcrowded fishing boat off the Italian coast has climbed to 49, Italian media reported yesterday.
Authorities made the grim discovery on Saturday when an Italian navy patrol boat was sent to the sinking vessel’s aid as it made the journey across the Mediterranean to Europe.
At first around 40 people were thought to have died, but the number has been revised upwards to 49, according to reports citing authorities in the Sicilian port of Catania.
Some 312 survivors — including 45 women and three children —were pulled off the boat and were to arrive in Catania on Monday aboard the Norwegian vessel Siem Pilot.
AFP
