At least 59 people died after a vessel carrying migrants from Libya to Italy sank, Greek authorities said Wednesday — with fears that more people are missing at sea.
Greece’s coast guard said it rescued 104 survivors from the site of the sinking, about 45 miles off the Greek town of Pylos, with four transported to a hospital in the city of Kalamata by helicopter. The exact number of people onboard the vessel when it sank is not known.
A coast guard official confirmed the death toll and said a large-scale search operation was continuing. “We don’t have exactly the number of the persons who were onboard,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized as a spokesperson, adding that “many people” were believed to be onboard.
The sinking adds to the high number of people who have drowned crossing the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to Europe this year so far.