Migrant boat carrying 600 people capsizes off Egypt coast killing 29

Egypt: At least 29 people including 18 men, 10 women and a young child have been killed after a boat carrying about 600 migrants capsized off the Egyptian coast, security sources and local officials say on Wednesday.

A local official was quoted by an Egyptian state news agency MENA as saying;

"An illegal migration boat has capsized off the coast of Kafr al-Sheiklh carrying 600 migrants in the largest illegal migration operation through the Kafr al-Sheikh coast so far."

MENA added that 150 people were saved by rescue workers.

Security sources who spoke to Reuters said the boat was carrying Egyptian, Syrian, and African migrants.
 

"Initial information indicates that the boat sank because it was carrying more people than its limit.

A senior security official in Beheira told Reuters that the boat slanted and the migrants fell into the water."


It was not immediately known where the boat was headed, but officials said they believed it was heading towards Italy.