133 bodies from Egypt migrant shipwreck

Most of those rescued were Egyptians but also included Sudanese, Eritreans and a Syrian

The death toll from a refugee boat disaster off Egypt’s coast climbed to 133 yesterday as rescuers recovered more bodies from the Mediterranean.

Survivors have said up to 450 refugees were on board the overcrowded fishing vessel that was heading to Italy from Egypt when it keeled over off the port city of Rosetta on Wednesday.

“The death toll from the illegal migrant boat that capsized off the coast of Rosetta ... has reached 133,” the health ministry said in a statement.

The military said it had rescued 163 survivors. Recovery attempts were continuing.

Rescuers had said search operations would focus on the boat’s hold where witnesses said around 100 people had been when the vessel flipped over.

Authorities have arrested four suspected people traffickers over the tragedy, the latest in what the United Nations refugee agency expects to be the deadliest year on record for the Mediterranean.

The accident comes months after the EU border agency Frontex warned that growing numbers of Europe-bound refugees were using Egypt as a departure point. Traffickers often use barely seaworthy vessels and overload them to extract the maximum money in fares from desperate migrants.

The International Organisation for Migration said most of those rescued were Egyptians but also included Sudanese, Eritreans, a Syrian and an Ethiopian.

After Balkan countries closed the popular overland route in March and the EU agreed to a deal with Turkey to halt departures, asylum seekers turned to other ways to reach Europe.

Frontex chief Fabrice Leggeri said in June that the crossing from Egypt to Italy, which often takes more than 10 days, was becoming increasingly popular.

The UN refugee agency said yesterday that more than 4,600 non-Egyptians, many of them Sudanese and Ethiopians, had been arrested this year trying to depart from Egypt’s northern coast.