VALLETTA, Malta (AP) — Maltese and Italian militaries were searching Saturday for some more than a dozen migrants feared dead after a boat carrying them sunk 300 miles southeast of Malta.
The Malta army said in a statement that survivors said their vessel, with about 30 on board, had been rammed by another boat. In all, 12 migrants, including two children, have been rescued since their boat was spotted Friday. Several corpses were spotted in the vicinity, and two have been recovered.
Most of the survivors have been taken to Greece, the nearest landfall and within helicopter range.
The numbers of migrants fleeing conflicts and risking the perilous sea voyages from Libya to Europe has swelled this year. Some 110,000 people have been rescued since January, and the U.N. refugee agency says at least 1,889 others have died.
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