The official death toll
from the capsizing of a migrant boat off the coast of Egypt on Wednesday had
climbed to 165 on Saturday morning, with 52 families still looking for their
missing relatives. The boat, which capsized on Wednesday, was carrying migrants
of a number of nationalities to Italy.
Eyewitnesses estimated
the boat was carrying around 450 migrants, 300 over an estimated maximum
passenger capacity of 150 people. A total of 164 people have been rescued
including the four crew members of the boat, 117 Egyptian migrants and 43
foreign migrants. Authorities have
recovered dozens of victims' bodies in the boat disaster but many are still
missing. There are many children and women among the victims. According to
survivors' testimonies, after the boat sank, they remained in the water for
seven hours before being discovered.
On Thursday, Egyptian
prosecutors ordered the arrest and detention of the four crew members for four
days pending investigation over charges of human trafficking, wrongful death,
wrongful injury and using a fishing boat for another purpose.In recent years, thousands of refugees and migrants have attempted to cross the Mediterranean in search of better jobs and opportunities. The Egyptian Mediterranean coastline has been one of the main departure points for migrant boats. Egyptian security forces have halted many irregular migration attempts in recent months.