Dozens feared dead as second migrant boat capsizes in Mediterranean

Dozens of migrants are feared drowned after a second overcrowded boat capsized in the Mediterranean in two days on Thursday. The number of casualties could be as high as 30 but 88 people were rescued, the Italian navy said. The overturned boat was spotted off the coast of Libya by an aircraft from the European Union’s Sophia mission, which called in the coastguard to assist in the rescue.

We don’t know how many people were on board

Italian coastguard spokesman

It was the second shipwreck in two days, after five people were confirmed to have died when a large fishing boat (pictured) flipped over in the sea on Wednesday. Boat arrivals in Italy have risen sharply this week amid warm weather and calm seas. The coastguard has coordinated the rescue of about 900 migrants in seven different operations on Thursday. That brings the total of migrants who have been rescued since Monday to more than 7,000.

italian navy