Migrant boat overturns in Mediterranean, hundreds believed onboard

Survivors from a boat that capsized off the coast of Libya, in which some 200 migrants were feared drowned, were being brought to Sicily on Thursday, as tales emerged of the “horrific” moment the boat overturned.

Irish patrol vessel LE Niamh and a ship deployed by medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) were among the first to be dispatched.

Defence Minister Simon Coveney said the LE Niamh, along with Italian Naval vessels, the Medicins Sans Frontiere vessel Dignity, and a number of helicopters took part in the rescue operation.

After the accident, the United Nations Refugee Agency’s chief spokeswoman, Melissa Fleming, said that those who had crowded onto the boat included “100 in the hull”.

Non-governmental organizations or cargo ships in the vicinity frequently help rescue migrants, with operations coordinated by Italy’s coast guard and under the umbrella of a European Union task force known as Triton.

“People were desperately clinging to lifebelts, boats and anything they could, fighting for their lives, amidst people drowning, and those who had already died”.

The vessel, which was on its way to mainland Europe, capsized just off the coast of Libya at around 8am Irish time.

Vessels from the Italian and Irish navies and humanitarian agency Medecins sans Frontiers (MSF) saved more than 370 people from a capsized boat thought to be carrying up to 600 on Wednesday, the Italian coast guard said on Thursday.

Despite a significant strengthening of the European maritime rescue operation Triton, whose resources and skills are now similar to those of the former Italian mission Mare Nostrum, the conditions in which migrants try to cross the Mediterranean make every trip perilous.

Three other ships have been sent to the area to search for survivors.

More than 2000 migrants and refugees have died so far this year in attempts to reach Europe by boat, compared with 3279 deaths during the whole of last year, the worldwide Organisation for Migration said on Tuesday.

It is unclear how the tragedy unfolded but it has been speculated that the capsize occurred when a rescue ship initially approached and migrants rushed to one side making it unstable. Only 28 survivors, including two alleged smugglers, were found.

There they set sail in flimsy motorised rubber dinghies or rickety old fishing boats. When the vessels have problems, often someone aboard contacts the coast guard by satellite phone to request rescue. Others are feared to have gone down with the boat.

Around 200 migrants are believed to have died after yesterday’s shipwreck off Libya, with hopes of finding more survivors fading.