Officials: More than 100 bodies retrieved following Egypt migrant boat capsizing
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 23 September 2016 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Officials: More than 100 bodies retrieved following Egypt migrant boat capsizing, 23 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58189df3a.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
September 23, 2016
Migrants who were rescued from a boat that capsized in the Mediterranean Sea are pictured in Al-Beheira, Egypt on September 22. More than 100 people are known to have perished in the incident.
Egyptian officials say more than 100 bodies have been pulled out of the waters off the Egyptian coast as the death toll from the capsizing of a smuggler's boat continues to mount.
Mohammed Sultan, the governor of Beheira province, told the Associated Press that 115 bodies had been retrieved following the accident on September 21 some 12 kilometers offshore of the Nile Delta port city of Rosetta.
The United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR, says that the boat was overloaded with some 450 people, while the state news agency MENA said earlier that the number might have been as high as 600.
Some 150 people, mostly Egyptians, survived the capsizing. Many of the dead are women and children who were unable to swim away from the wreckage and await rescue.
Egypt has been a traditional route for migrants seeking to reach Europe by sea.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
