At least 40 migrants are feared dead in an umpteenth sinking in the Mediterranean, the Italian navy said.
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The navy said because the rescue was still ongoing Saturday it couldn’t give exact numbers of dead and rescued.
The deaths were caused by suffocation as the migrants were held in a confined space below deck, according to reports. Fantasia said the boat carrying the migrants had not capsised.
Defence Minister Simon Coveney said the crews of LE Niamh and LA Eithne had performed heroics there, rescuing more than 5,000 people, including 367 migrants whose vessel capsized last week.
Via its official Twitter account, the Marina Militare said that a rescue operation was underway and several migrants were saved.
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Last Tuesday, up to 50 migrants went missing when a large rubber dinghy sank in the Mediterranean Sea and almost 2,000 have been picked up this week. Italy took in 170,000 in 2014.
