KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 32 people have been rescued by two commercial vessels, while 71 others remain missing after a migrant boat sank in waters near Italy, media reports said on Monday.
The boat, attempting to cross from Libya to Europe, was carrying a total of 105 migrants. The bodies of two migrants have also been recovered at sea, Reuters cited rescue charities as saying.
The rescued individuals were transferred to an Italian Coast Guard patrol boat and brought to the Italian island of Lampedusa, according to the groups Mediterranea Saving Humans and Sea-Watch.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that at least 683 people have died in the central Mediterranean this year, marking one of the highest tolls since 2014.
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