ROSETTA (EGYPT) - A boat carrying migrants capsized Wednesday in the Mediterranean off Egypt's north coast, drowning 42 people and prompting a search operation in which another 150 were rescued, officials said. A municipal official in the Mediterranean city told AFP the dead included a child, 10 women and 31 young men. "The number of boat crossings from Egypt to Italy has reached 1,000 (so far) this year." Despite the lower numbers attempting the dangerous sea crossing, fatality rates had risen, with 2016 on track to be "the deadliest year on record in the Mediterranean Sea," said the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). An EU official told AFP this month that almost 300 smuggler boats had been put out of commission in the past year.

Source: Bangkok Post September 21, 2016 19:52 UTC