In recent years, thousands of refugees and migrants have attempted to cross the Mediterranean in search of better jobs and opportunities.
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In one video, a fisherman was heard shouting into his mobile phone that, “the sea is littered with bodies”.
The overloaded boat bound for Italy was believed to have been carrying 450 migrants when it overturned Wednesday.
A total of 164 people have been rescued including the four crew members of the boat, 117 Egyptian migrants and 43 foreign migrants.
The increased death toll means more than 3,500 migrants have died in the Mediterranean so far this year – on pace for a new record.
The boat, which capsized on Wednesday, was carrying migrants of a number of nationalities to Italy.
Many of those gathered at the shore where the bodies arrived appeared to be wearing surgical masks to protect them from the smell of decaying bodies.
“18 more bodies were retrieved as at this afternoon, bringing the number of victims to 162”.
“The boat flipped over and sank shortly after the start of the journey”, Ahmed Darwish, told al-Masri al-Youm.
Initial investigations found that the boat had been filled beyond capacity, Egyptian media reported. Women screamed and relatives pushed and shoved while swarming the ambulances heading to the hospital.
According to survivors’ testimonies, after the boat sank, they remained in the water for seven hours before being discovered. “The strong majority are youngsters”, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security fears.
Many of those on board were from Egypt, Eritrea and Somalia, according to survivors.
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More than 300,000 refugees and migrants have reached European shores since January 2016, almost 50 percent fewer entries than were documented past year over the same period.
