ROME — A fishing boat crowded with migrants overturned Wednesday in the Mediterranean off Libya as rescuers approached, and the Italian coast guard and Irish navy said at least 367 people were saved, although 25 bodies also were found in the latest human smuggling tragedy.
Coast guard Commander Filippo Marini said the rescue operation, involving seven ships, was still underway several hours after the capsizing. Survivors indicated that between 400 and 600 people were aboard the smugglers' boat, he added.
The exact number of those aboard might never be known, but authorities hoped to have a better idea after survivors are interviewed.
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The Irish naval vessel Le Niamh was one of the ships tasked by the coast guard to speed to the rescue of the boat, Captain Donal Gallagher said by phone.
The Le Niamh arrived near the fishing boat, Marini said, and ''at the sight of it, the migrants shifted'' to one side and their boat capsized.