The Italian government appears to be using a new tactic against private sea rescue organizations operating in the Mediterranean. While previously the allocation of ports was often delayed or ships were confiscated, the government is now also asking rescue ships to make longer journeys.
Libyan authorities combatting illegal migration said the boat embarked from Egypt and overturned off Libya. Officials did not say what caused the shipwreck.
The fate of around 60 Lebanese and Syrian migrants on a sinking fishing boat in the Mediterranean is unknown after contact was lost on Monday. They had reported running out of food and water, and that two young children on board had died.
Coast guards have reported rescuing 30 people from a boat in the Mediterranean near a small islet north of Crete. More and more migrants and refugees are reportly trying to reach Italy from Turkey in order to circumvent pushbacks in the Eastern Aegean.