ROME, March 13: About 30 migrants were missing and presumed drowned after the overcrowded boat they were on capsized during a rescue attempt by a cargo ship off Libya, Italy's coastguard said on Sunday. Seventeen migrants were saved and a search was underway for the missing after the early-morning attempted rescue in Libya's search-and-rescue zone, the coastguard said. "During the rescue operations... the boat capsized during the transfer of the migrants: 17 people were rescued and recovered by the (cargo) vessel while approximately 30 migrants were missing," said the coastguard. First to be alerted to the boat in distress some 100 miles (160 kilometres) northwest of Benghazi was Alarm Phone, a charity that monitors migrant boats. The rescue operation began early Sunday morning after the cargo vessel "Froland" reached the site, during which the migrant boat overturned, the coastguard said.

Source: Libya Today March 14, 2023 06:29 UTC