500 feared dead in Mediterranean Sea shipwreck

A repurposed fishing boat severely overloaded by smugglers with up to 500 Africans hoping to reach Italy from eastern Libya may have sunk, survivors told UNHCR.

As many as 500 people are feared to have drowned in the southern Mediterranean last week, in what would be the deadliest migrant shipwreck in months.

A repurposed fishing boat severely overloaded by smugglers with up to 500 Africans hoping to reach Italy from eastern Libya may have sunk, survivors told UNHCR.

The UN refugee agency says the disaster happened in the waters between Italy and Libya, based on accounts from survivors rescued on April 16.

The 41 survivors – 37 men, three women and a 3-year-old child – were rescued by a merchant ship and taken to Kalamata, in the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. Those rescued include 23 Somalis, 11 Ethiopians, 6 Egyptians and a Sudanese.

The shipwreck has prompted renewed calls from refugee advocates for western countries to provide safe and legal access to Europe.