Death toll in migrant shipwreck off Egypt rises to 194

Twenty-five bodies were recovered on September 27 from a boat that sank in Mediterranean waters off Egypt last week with hundreds of migrants aboard, raising the confirmed death toll to 194, rescue workers said.

An Egyptian mother reacts beside the body of her son who was on a boat carrying migrants which capsized off Egypt's coast, in Al-Beheira, Egypt, September 22, 2016. (Credit: Reuters)
An Egyptian mother reacts beside the body of her son who was on a boat carrying migrants which capsized off Egypt's coast, in Al-Beheira, Egypt, September 22, 2016. (Credit: Reuters)

The boat capsized off Burg Rashed, a coastal village where the Nile meets the Mediterranean, on September 21. Rescue workers and fishermen said they had rescued at least 169 people, but uncertainty remained over how many might still be missing.

The spokesman for the Beheira regional governor said the shipwreck had been hoisted out of the depths and was likely to contain dozens more bodies.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday it believed at least 450 people were aboard the vessel and that about 300 likely perished in all.

Egyptian security sources initially said there had been almost 600 migrants aboard.

Reuters