“Initial information indicates that the boat sank because it was carrying more people than its limit”.
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There is still uncertainty over the exact number of migrants who were on board the vessel before it capsized, with estimates between 450 and 600.
“Events like this highlight the importance of rescue operations as part of the response to the movement of refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean and the need for real, safer alternatives for people needing global protection”. He said over 150 people have been rescued so far but that bodies are still being pulled from the water.
Illegal migration via Egyptian Mediterranean Sea shores rose over the past few years in attempts to reach Europe and flee hard economic conditions in the most populous Arab country.
In June, a boat capsized near Sicily, drowning at least 169 migrants. He said the boat may now have sunk to 16 meters (yards) below sea level.
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said in a speech on the sidelines of the event that national efforts are being undertaken to counter illegal migration. Egypt’s official news ag.
Some 1.3 million migrants reached Europe previous year fleeing war and economic hardship, prompting bitter disputes among European countries over how to share responsibility.
The head of European Union border agency Frontex, Fabrice Leggeri, said in June that Egypt was becoming a “departure country” for migrants.
(AP Photo/Eman Helal). Metwaly Mohamed Ahmed, an Egyptian man, sleeps at a hospital in Rosetta, Egypt, as he was detained after rescued from a boat capsized off the Mediterranean coast near the Egyptian city of Alexandria, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016. Eg. The boat tilted and the migrants fell…
On Wednesday, a boat transporting African asylum seekers sank near the Egyptian coast.
Darwish described spotting a fishing boat about a kilometre away and desperately trying to attract its attention, afraid it would not see his head bobbing above the waves.
Most of the survivors are believed to be Egyptian, but some may be from Sudan and Somalia.
“Therefore, Egypt became an appealing destination for smugglers and refugees as a reasonable alternative for its long coastline and being relatively stable, near Europe (mainly Italy, Greece and Cyprus) and open to African and Arab nations”, Elhusseini said.
“There is no way to end this except by uprooting its causes; and this will be by reaching political agreements, not by closing borders”, he said.
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He added that numerous migrants are believed to have been “stored in the bottom of the boat, in the fridge”.
