29 Sudanese rescued after migrant boat capsized off Egypt
September 22, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government announced that 29 of its nationals have been rescued after the sinking of a boat carrying over 600 illegal migrants off the Alexandria’s coast on Wednesday.
Reports from Egypt say 52 bodies have been recovered from the Mediterranean but hundreds are still missing.
The boat, which was heading to Italy, sank on Wednesday morning in the Mediterranean Sea off Burg Rashid, a village in the northern Beheira province. The migrants were from Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan.
The spokesperson of the Sudanese Foreign Ministry Gharib Allah Khidir, told reporters on Thursday that the 29 Sudanese were rescued from the capsized boat at12 km from the coast of Alexandria.
Khidir said that the Sudanese consulate in Alexandria continues to search for missing Sudanese in coordination with the Beheira commissioner and the Sudanese embassy in Cairo.
He added that they are gathering basic information to issue travel documents for the Sudanese survivors.
After the surveillance of the Libyan shores by EU patrols, Egypt has become a new destination for migrants as traffickers run their lucrative business easily.
The International Organization for Migration said that 3,213 migrants died while trying to cross the Mediterranean this year. It further estimates that some 298.474 migrants reached European shores.
Some 1.3 million migrants reached Europe last year fleeing war and economic hardship, prompting bitter disputes among European countries on how to share the responsibility.
(ST)