Over 700 missing or feared dead in the Mediterranean as migrants ship capsizes

At least 65 migrants have died from shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea in the past week. And with hundreds still missing, officials fear the death toll could soar above 700. Most of the victims were on three ill-fated boats.

About 100 people remain missing Sunday after a boat capsized Wednesday, said Federico Fossi, spokesman for the United Nations' refugee agency. Five people died in that disaster; more than 560 survived.

On Thursday, another migrant boat capsized and sank. Of the 670 on board, 15 people died, about 104 survived and roughly 550 remain missing, Fossi said.  And on Friday, another migrant boat started taking in water. It's not clear how many people were on board, but at least 45 people died. 

 

Fossi said most of the migrants were from Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan. Many Somalians are trying to escape Al-Shabaab and clan warfare; Eritreans want to flee repression or military service. And in Sudan, pockets of fighting will likely continue in parts of Darfur through next year, displacing many refugees, the U.N. refugee agency predicts.  

At least 1,475 migrants have died so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration. But that number could skyrocket if the roughly 650 missing are confirmed dead.