700 African migrants drown in Mediterranean Sea. It's 'worst massacre ever' in the Mediterranean.

AS many as 700 migrants were feared drowned Sunday after their packed boat capsized off Libya in what was described as the deadliest such disaster to date in the Mediterranean.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and Italy’s coastguard said only 28 people had survived the wreck. Their testimonies suggested there had been about 700 people on board the 20-metre (70-foot) fishing boat, officials said.

“It seems we are looking at the worst massacre ever seen in the Mediterranean,” UNHCR spokeswoman Carlotta Sami said.

The Maltese navy said it had received an alert about the stricken vessel around midnight (2200 GMT) on Saturday.

The vessel was about 70 miles (126 km) off the Libyan coast and 110 miles (177 km) south of the Italian island of Lampedusa when it issued a distress call, Italy’s coastguard said.

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