The group stated they have been travelling from Tobruk in Libya to Italy when their boat capsized
Tons of of migrants drowned when their boat capsized within the Mediterranean, survivors have informed the BBC – though there isn’t a official affirmation.
The forty one survivors say they have been transferred to a different vessel when it sank in the midst of the night time.
They stated that as much as 500 individuals died, however coastguards within the area have been unable to verify their accounts.
Numbers of migrants making the damaging sea route from Libya to Italy have surged this yr.
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The survivors, from Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and Egypt, spoke to the BBC from the southern Greek metropolis of Kalamata, the place they’re being held after their rescue.
Based on the group, about 240 migrants left the Libyan port metropolis of Tobruk heading for Italy.
As soon as out within the Mediterranean, they stated they have been transferred to a bigger boat already full of greater than 300 individuals, which then capsized.
The survivors have been then picked up by a cargo ship, whose crew informed the BBC that the migrants initially refused to be handed over to the Greek coastguard as they have been decided to get to Italy.
The group was rescued by a cargo ship, whose firm gave the BBC these footage
A Somali lady dwelling in Egypt informed the BBC Somali service that three of her kin, whom she had not heard from since they set out for Europe on Thursday, had died.
The presidents of each Somalia and the self-declared Republic of Somaliland provided their condolences over the incident. The Somali embassy in Cairo put the dying toll at virtually four hundred.
However the UN refugee company (UNHCR) has forged doubt, tweeting that the knowledge lots of had died appeared “inaccurate”.
The truth that the boat capsized at night time in open sea might properly have contributed to the shortage of clear info obtainable, correspondents say.
In March 2015:
2,283 made the ocean crossing to Italy
7,875 made journey from Turkey to Greece
Reuters
In a separate incident, six our bodies have been recovered and 108 migrants rescued when a rubber dinghy sank off the coast of Libya, in line with the organisation SOS Mediterranean.
The boat was partially deflated, taking over water and its engine was out of use, the rescue group stated.
The variety of migrants arriving in Italy from Libya has surged lately – about 6,000 made the journey alone over a 3-day interval final week, the Worldwide Organisation for Migration stated.
The deaths come on the eve of the primary anniversary of the sinking of a migrant boat within the waters between Libya and Lampedusa through which as much as 800 individuals might have drowned.
About one hundred eighty,000 individuals have tried to succeed in Europe by sea this yr, with almost 800 lives misplaced, the UN says.
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