DHAKA: At least 30 migrants are feared dead after a boat capsized in the Mediterranean off the Libyan coast while some 77 were rescued by EU naval units from the sea.

Ships from an EU task force and Italy’s coast guard raced to the scene 35 nautical miles (65km) off the coast as survivors clung to the hull or swam, reports the BBC.

The Italian navy rescued 562 migrants from a capsized boat on Wednesday.

It has now emerged that the death toll from that shipwreck may have been as great as 100.

Five deaths were reported by the Italian coast guard at the time but the International Organization of Migration (IOM) believes others were trapped in the upturned hull.

BDST: 0315 HRS, MAY 27, 2016
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