Migrant boat capsizes off Egypt, killing at least 29, over 150 rescued

Cairo: Egyptian authorities say a boat carrying African migrants headed to Europe has capsized off the Mediterranean coast near the city of Alexandria, killing at least 29 people.

Health Ministry official Alaa Osman from Beheira province says that 155 people have been rescued, but that bodies are still being found in the area. He says the migrants were from several African countries.

Egypt's official news agency MENA said the boat had been carrying 600 people.
Thousands of illegal migrants have made the dangerous sea voyage across the Mediterranean in recent years fleeing war and poverty, mostly via lawless Libya. Thousands have drowned.