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43 dead as boat capsizes off Egyptian coast

September 22, 2016 at 3:45 pm

A boat carrying 600 people from Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan capsized off the Egyptian coast yesterday killing 43 people.

Four hundred people are still missing and 154 people have been rescued.

So far this year, 3,211 refugees have died trying to get to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea, whilst some 300,000 have made the journey.

According to CNN, the Egyptian coastguard also “foiled an illegal immigration attempt” and rescued 294 people on a boat off Egypt’s northern coast, close to Al-Alamein.

The military arrested 68 people off the coast of Matrouh on a boat headed for Europe a day earlier as part of attempts by the government to crackdown on illegal immigration.

Armed forces spokesman Ahmed Samir has said that hundreds of refugees have been prevented from illegally immigrating this year.

President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi told the United Nations General Assembly earlier this week that countering illegal migration is a top priority for the Egyptian government.