Hundreds feared drowned in Mediterranean
Tripoli, 15 Apr - (ANA)- About 400 migrants are feared drowned after their boat capsized off Libya, survivors have told Save the Children. The Italian coast guard rescued 144 people from the boat on Monday and launched an air and sea search operation in hopes of saving others. Hundreds more migrants rescued from boats in the Mediterranean are due to arrive in Sicily during the day. More than 8,000 migrants have been picked up since Friday, and more boats are heading for the Italian coast. Italy's interior ministry has instructed officials throughout the country to be prepared to house the new arrivals, many of whom are children. UN officials say well over 500 people have died since the start of the year, 30 times more than in the same period last year. Survivors say that the latest tragedy happened after the boat, carrying about 550 migrants in total, overturned a day after leaving Libya.
Nine bodies have already been recovered, but no more survivors have been found since then. Save the Children said that many of the survivors were "young men, probably minors". Save the Children Italy was still trying to find out how many young people were on the boat, spokesman Michele Prosperi said. "A few minors" were among the survivors, he said. The migration season had just started, and "when the weather improves... we may have many more arrivals", he added. Last year, 170,000 migrants crossed the Mediterranean to Italy and as many as 3,500 died while making the journey, officials say. The Italian government's maritime rescue operation was scaled back, amid concerns that it was encouraging migrant crossings, and a more limited EU border security operation took over. However, the latest numbers show that the EU's policy of deterring people is not working. (ANA)

FA/ANA/15 April 2015-----------------