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Bags containing the bodies of the drowned African migrants lie in a hangar at Lampedusa airport — AFP

Up to 700 people are feared dead after a migrant boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the Libyan coast. Italy’s ANSA news agency said yesterday that an estimated 700 people were aboard and 28 people had been rescued.

Carlotta Sami, the UN refugee agency UNHCR spokesperson, confirmed to Sky TG24 news channel that only 28 people had survived the shipwreck.

The Italian coast guard said in a statement that 24 bodies has also been recovered.

Joseph Muscat, Malta’s prime minister, was quoted on Twitter as confirming the incident:

The incident happened in an area just off Libyan waters, 193km south of Lampedusa island, according to a report in the Times of Malta’s website.

This comes amid a wave of migrants trying to leave Libya for Italian shores.

Al Jazeera’s Paul Brennan, reporting from Catania on Sicily, off Italy’s southern coast, said while the weather was sunny and good on Saturday, it later turned overcast and cloudy, which meant that the seas were choppy.

He said reports indicated that the approach of a Portuguese ship prompted people on board the boat to shift to one side, upsetting the weight distribution and causing it to sink.

About 18 ships were involved in the rescue mission and they had also sent out a distress signal for other vessels in the area which could be in need of assistance, our correspondent said.

Earlier, Pope Francis waded into the discussion about the influx of migrants off the coast of Italy.

In a meeting with Italy’s newly elected President Sergio Mattarella at the Vatican on Saturday, Francis said: “It’s clear that the proportions of this phenomenon require a much wider involvement.

“We mustn’t tire in urging a broader commitment at a European and international level.”

More and more migrants anxious to escape conflict in North Africa and the Middle East are making the dangerous and often deadly crossing into European territory.

Around 13,000 migrants have been rescued at sea over the past week as good weather improved sailing conditions and spurred more boats to try to cross the Mediterranean Sea.

So far, at least 900 have died trying to cross this year as boats capsized. — AFP