Hundreds feared dead after boat capsizes

19 April 2015 09:18 am

Hundreds of people are feared to have drowned after a boat carrying up to 700 migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, the Italian coastguard says.

A major rescue operation is under way after the vessel carrying "between 500 and 700 migrants" capsized at midnight local time, south of the Italian island of Lampedusa.

So far 28 people have been rescued.

Earlier this week, four hundred people were feared to have drowned when their vessel capsized north of Libya. (BBC)