DHAKA: A Bangladeshi survived the smuggler’s boat that overturned with several hundred migrants in Mediterranean Sea off Libya’s coast, reports international media Monday.

The survivor told investigators there were 950 people on board of the fishing boat that sank on Saturday.

Italian prosecutor interviewed the Bangladeshi in Catania, Italy. His details could not be known. However, it is yet to confirm whether any other Bangladeshi was on board.

The migrant, who spoke to investigators after being airlifted to a hospital in Catania, is among dozens who authorities say were saved from the sinking vessel.

As rescuers approached, authorities say migrants on the boat moved to one side, hoping to be saved. Their movement caused the large, multilevel boat to capsize about 110 kilometers (almost 70 miles) north of Libya, sending the desperate crowd plunging into the sea, their chance of survival slim.

He told investigators there were 950 people on board – a number of prosecutors haven't verified. Maltese authorities, who are working with Italian rescuers, earlier said around 50 of 700 people on the boat had been saved.

The man said that about 300 people were in the hold when the fishing boat overturned, and that about 200 women and dozens of children also were on board.

Many on lower levels of the boat were trapped inside because smugglers had locked the doors, the migrant said, according to prosecutors. The Italian Coast Guard is collecting statements from other survivors, prosecutors said.

It was the latest in a series of dangerous voyages for hundreds of men, women and children who boarded the boat in Libya, hoping to make it safely to Europe. Passengers on the boat were from a number of nations, including Algeria, Egypt, Somalia, Niger, Senegal, Mali, Zambia, Bangladesh and Ghana, prosecutors said.

Eighteen ships joined the rescue effort, but only 28 survivors and 24 bodies have been pulled from the water so far.

BDST: 1103 HRS, APR 20, 2015
HB/AKA