More than 220 migrants were reported dead on Monday following three shipwrecks at the weekend off the coasts of Libya and Italy, dpa reported. In the latest incident, Italy's navy and coast guard, as well as a passing cargo ship, intervened overnight to rescue 364 people from an overcrowded fishing boat that had capsized in stormy waters north of Libya. Six dead bodies were also picked up, and the search was continuing for more survivors, the Italian navy said, adding that since Friday nearly 4,000 migrants had been rescued from the central Mediterranean. On Saturday, a navy patrol boat picked up 73 people and recovered 18 bodies from a dinghy off the island of Lampedusa. It had suffered engine failure was being battered by heavy seas. In Libya, navy spokesman Ayoub Abul Qassem said Monday that least 200 people died in a Friday shipwreck, adding that the search was on for the missing. The wooden boat was carrying African migrants and only 17 had survived so far.
