PALERMO: A boat carrying more than 200 migrants has capsized between Sicily and Tunisia, killing at least 27 persons, the Italian coastguard said.
The officials said that 221 people were rescued in a joint Italian-Maltese operation after the incident that took place about 60 miles south of the Italian island of Lampedusa.
Talking to a news conference in Valletta, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that there were indications at least 27 people had died “and the number is expected to rise, possibly drastically”.
The most seriously injured were being taken by helicopter to Lampedusa.
