The boat capsized approximately 12 nautical miles from the Egyptian port city of Rosetta.
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Egypt’s northern Beheira governorate surrounding Rosetta has declared a state of emergency since the shipwreck, local media reported on Wednesday.
More than 160 have been rescued, a lot of them Egyptians along with some Sudanese, Somalians, Eritreans and other nationalities.
As Libya – a popular jumping-off point for migrants seeking to reach Europe from North Africa – becomes increasingly risky, more people may attempt to make the journey from Egypt’s shores, instead.
Survivors and relatives said the boat sank almost eight miles from the Egyptian coast and it took the coastguard around six hours to reach the scene.
“On the boat there is a hold used to store fish”.
One survivor Ahmed Darwish said that there were more than 500 people on board the boat when it sank.
Military boats were seen bringing corpses to shore in body bags, one containing the body of a child whose grandfather recognised him and knelt down in shock.
The shipwreck occurred Wednesday off the coast of Rashid City, and many of those who drowned were children between the ages of 10 and 13, officials previously said.
He added that numerous migrants are believed to have been “stored in the bottom of the boat, in the fridge”. “I believe many are stuck and now laying in the bottom of the sea”.
Speaking to the BBC’s Orla Guerin in Rosetta, survivors said smugglers forced anyone who wanted a lifejacket to pay extra. “We’ve been here for three days now”.
Many of those who survived found themselves detained by Egyptian law enforcement once on land, with some being handcuffed to their hospital beds.
“That’s why this is a disaster”, said police spokesman Tarek Attiya. Some of the interviewees said the traffickers asked for $6,250 per family, to be paid on arrival in Italy. They said the traffickers asked the migrants to tell the Italian authorities that they are Syrian refugees.
More than 300,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe so far this year from various departure points, but particularly Egypt and Libya.
Despite the danger at sea and increasing hostility towards migrants in Europe, people continue to flee wars, terrorism and crushing poverty in the Middle East and Africa.
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The number is down from 520,000 in the first nine months of 2015.
