Migrant boat sinks, 25 missing

2006-06-09 17:08

Rome - Twenty-five people are missing after a boat carrying clandestine migrants sank in international waters off Malta on Friday, said the Italian coast guard.

Sixteen others were rescued by an Italian fishing boat, which came upon the survivors at dawn, just outside Malta's territorial waters.

The survivors, four of whom were in serious condition, said 25 other people had been on the boat.

The immigrants were believed to have been heading for Italy. According to the coast guard, the vessel may have been overloaded.

Italian and Maltese naval vessels arrived in the area and were searching for survivors, or retrieving bodies.

The survivors were being transported to Malta by an Italian patrol boat.

Italy intercepted 207 boats, carrying nearly 22 000 migrants, off its coast last year.

Coast guard and customs officials also discovered 70 corpses.

- AFP