The number dead in a migrant boat disaster off Egypt’s coast climbed to 148 on Friday as rescuers recovered more bodies from the Mediterranean. Survivors have said up to 450 migrants were on board the fishing vessel that was heading to Italy from Egypt when it keeled over off the port of Rosetta on Wednesday. The accident comes months after the EU border agency Frontex warned that growing numbers of Europe-bound migrants were using Egypt as a departure point for the dangerous voyage. Migrant death toll expected to exceed 10,000 in 2016 Read moreTraffickers often use barely seaworthy vessels and overload them to extract the maximum money in fares from desperate migrants. More than 300,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year from various points of departure, the UN said this week.

Source: The Guardian September 23, 2016 11:32 UTC