40 migrants die in sea crossing

Around 40 migrants died in the Mediterranean on Sunday, according to survivors of the journey who arrived on the southern Italian island of Sicily, local Save the Children spokeswoman Giovanna Di Benedetto said.

The deaths were reported by some of the roughly 240 migrants from Ghana, Gambia, Senegal, and Ivory Coast who arrived in Catania.

A Maltese merchant ship rescued the migrants from two rubber boats on which they had set off from Libya, where lawlessness has been exploited by traffickers who can charge thousands of dollars to people looking for a better life in Europe.

Three of the roughly 137 survivors from one of the boats told the charity that dozens of people fell into the sea when they saw the a ship approach and then drowned because they could not swim.

Save the Children said five bodies had been brought to Catania but it was not yet clear whether they were among those who fell into the sea or if they died on the packed dinghy.

Numbers risking the journey from north Africa in rickety boats have risen further in recent weeks since up to 900 people are believed to have drowned last month in the worst Mediterranean shipwreck in living memory.