Mediterranean migrant crisis: Dozens 'drown off Libya'

Forty African migrants are feared to have drowned when their rickety boat sank off Libya's coast. 

The survivors told UN and aid agencies that more than 120 people were on the boat when it started taking in water. 

A number of people including women and children drowned in the chaos that followed. Nearly 90 migrants were rescued and later arrived in Italy. 

Spokesperson for "Save the Children", Giovanna Di Benedetto said all of the migrants are believed to have been from Sub-Saharan Africa, including Senegal, Mali and Benin. 

The survivors were picked up hours later by a passing merchant ship and brought to Sicily on a German military vessel that operates in the area.

BBC