Image copyright AP Image caption Aid agencies say that increasing numbers of migrants are trying to cross the Mediterranean from north Africa

At least 42 people have drowned after a migrant boat capsized off the Egyptian coast, officials say.

The boat was carrying about 600 passengers, of whom about 150 have been rescued, state media reported.

It capsized off the coast of Kafr al-Sheikh.

Wednesday's incident comes after the head of the EU's border agency warned that increasing numbers of Europe-bound migrants are using Egypt as a departure point.

The boat was transporting Egyptian, Syrian, Sudanese, Eritrean and Somali migrants, security officials told Reuters.

Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said the number of bodies recovered had reached 42 after local officials earlier told Reuters that the bodies of 20 men, 10 women and one child had been retrieved.

Sudanese and "other African nationalities" are among the dead, AFP news agency reports.

It is not clear where the planned final destination was, although officials said the boat was probably heading for Italy.

Human rights researchers warned last month of a "devastating" lack of information for families of migrants thought to have drowned in the Mediterranean.

Image copyright AP Image caption Many of those trying to reach Europe from North Africa are children

They say more than 6,600 refugees drowned in the Mediterranean in 2015 and the first half of this year.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) released figures in July suggesting that 2016 could become the worst year to date for migrant deaths.

It said that about 3,000 migrants and refugees had lost their lives so far this year trying to cross the Mediterranean.

But a report by UK academics warned that most bodies remain unidentified and their families are left not knowing if missing relatives are dead or alive.

The EU border agency Frontex said in August that more than 12,000 migrants arrived in Italy from Egypt between January and September, compared with 7,000 over the same period in 2015.

It says that Egypt is the "new hotspot" for people smugglers, with concerns that its population of about 80 million people may pose a major problem should it descend into chaos.

Frontex director Fabrice Leggeri said that work was being done to determine whether there was a link between the drop in numbers departing from Turkey - where only about 50 people a day try to make the journey to reach Greece compared to thousands this time last year - and the increase in numbers from Egypt.

The [Egyptian] route is growing," Mr Leggeri said. "The crossing is extremely dangerous [and can often] take longer than 10 days."

Other aid agencies have also warned about an increase in numbers from Egypt, especially after a migrant swap deal was agreed between the EU and Turkey in March.

"If you think that you have had a migrant crisis up until now, that will be a game changer," said Catherine Woollard, secretary general of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), a Brussels-based network of NGOs.

Ms Woollard said that some conflict and crisis experts are looking "at Egypt in terms of potential collapse".

The Egypt office of the IOM say high birth rates and few job opportunities are pushing young Egyptians into taking the risk.

However, officials say Libya still remains the biggest departure point with flows at around the same level this year as last year.</s>Migrant boat carrying 600 capsizes off Egypt coast killing at least 29 -local officials

CAIRO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - A boat carrying around 600 migrants has capsized off the Egyptian coast, killing at least 29 people, security sources and local officials told Reuters on Wednesday.

"An illegal migration boat has capsized off the coast of Kafr al-Sheiklh carrying 600 migrants in the largest illegal migration operation through the Kafr al-Sheikh coast so far," state news agency MENA quoted a local official as saying.

Rescue workers have saved 150 people, MENA said. The boat was carrying Egyptian, Syrian, and African migrants, security sources told Reuters. (Reporting by Mohamed Abdellah, Omar Fahmy, and Ahmed Mohamed Hassan; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Lin Noueihed)</s>A boat carrying around 600 migrants has capsized off the Egyptian coast, killing at least 29 people, security sources and local officials told Reuters on Wednesday.

“An illegal migration boat has capsized off the coast of Kafr al-Sheikh carrying 600 migrants in the largest illegal migration operation through the Kafr al-Sheikh coast so far,” state news agency MENA quoted a local official as saying.

Rescue workers have saved 150 people, MENA said. The boat was carrying Egyptian, Syrian, and African migrants, security sources told Reuters.

It was not immediately clear where the boat that sank on Wednesday was headed, though some security sources said they believed it was going to Italy.

More and more people have been trying to cross to Italy from the African coastline in recent months as the weather improves, particularly from Libya, where people-traffickers operate with relative impunity, but also from Egypt.

Some 320 migrants and refugees drowned off the Greek island of Crete in June. Migrants who survived had told authorities their boat set sail from Egypt

Some 206,400 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean this year, according to the International Organisation for Migration.

More than 2,800 deaths have been recorded between January and June this year, against 1,838 during the period last year.</s>Migrant boat carrying 600 capsizes off Egypt, at least 29 dead

CAIRO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - A boat carrying around 600 people capsized off Egypt's coast, killing at least 29, officials said on Wednesday, in the latest disaster to befall migrants attempting to make the crossing to Europe.

The boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea off Burg Rashid, a village in the northern Beheira province. Of the 29 bodies found so far, 18 were men, 10 were women and one was a child, local officials said.

"Initial information indicates that the boat sank because it was carrying more people than its limit. The boat tilted and the migrants fell into the water," a senior security official in Beheira told Reuters.

Rescue workers have so far saved 150 people, officials said. The boat was carrying Egyptian, Syrian, and African migrants, they added.

It was not immediately clear where the boat was headed, though officials said they believed it was going to Italy.

More and more people have been trying to cross to Italy from the African coastline over the summer months, particularly from Libya, where people-traffickers operate with relative impunity, but also from Egypt.

Some 320 migrants and refugees drowned off the Greek island of Crete in June. Migrants who survived told authorities their boat set sail from Egypt

Some 206,400 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean this year, according to the International Organization for Migration.

More than 2,800 deaths were recorded between January and June, versus 1,838 during the same period last year.

World leaders, including Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, gathered in New York this week at the United Nations General Assembly to discuss the migrant crisis. (Reporting by Mohamed Abdellah, Omar Fahmy, and Ahmed Mohamed Hassan; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Lin Noueihed and Mark Trevelyan)</s>A refugee boat carrying 600 people bound for Europe has capsized off the coast of Egypt, killing at least 29 people.

Local officials said 150 of the 600 had been rescued, describing it as one of the largest operation off Egypt's coast in the Mediterranean refugee crisis so far.

"An illegal migration boat has capsized off the coast of Kafr al-Sheiklh carrying 600 migrants in the largest illegal migration operation through the Kafr al-Sheikh coast so far," state news agency MENA quoted a local official as saying.

The boat was carrying Egyptian, Syrian, and African migrants, security sources told the Reuters news agency.

The sinking came as world leaders met for a special summit on the refugee crisis in New York.

US President Barack Obama, who called the Leaders Summit on Refugees, said the crisis was "one of the most urgent tests of ourt time".

"This crisis is a test of our common humanity -- whether we give in to suspicion and fear and build walls, or whether we see ourselves in another," he said. "Those girls being trafficked and tortured, they could be our daughters. That little boy on the beach could be our son or our grandson. We cannot avert our eyes or turn our backs."</s>Migrant boat capsizes off Egypt, killing at least 29

CAIRO (AP) — A boat carrying African migrants headed to Europe capsized off the Mediterranean coast near the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Wednesday, killing at least 29 people, Egyptian authorities said.

Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said that the total number of dead was still unknown. Local official Alaa Osman from Beheira province said the migrants were from several African countries. He said 155 people have been rescued so far but that bodies are still being pulled from the water.

Egypt's official news agency MENA said the boat was carrying 600 people.

Thousands of illegal migrants have made the dangerous sea voyage across the Mediterranean in recent years fleeing war and poverty, mostly via lawless Libya. Thousands have drowned.

The number of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Egypt to Europe has increased significantly in the past year, EU border agency Frontex said earlier this month. More than 12,000 migrants arrived in Italy from Egypt between January and September, compared to 7,000 in the same period last year, it said.

Experts say smugglers in Egypt mostly use old fishing vessels, stuffed way beyond capacity both below and above deck.</s>CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian authorities say a boat carrying African migrants headed to Europe has capsized off the Mediterranean coast near the city of Alexandria, killing at least 20 people.

Health Ministry official Alaa Osman from Beheira province says that 155 people have been rescued, but that bodies are still being found in the area. He says the migrants were from several African countries.

Egypt’s official news agency MENA said the boat had been carrying 600 people.

Thousands of illegal migrants have made the dangerous sea voyage across the Mediterranean in recent years fleeing war and poverty, mostly via lawless Libya. Thousands have drowned.</s>Migrant boat capsizes off Egypt, killing at least 30

A boat carrying migrants capsized Wednesday in the Mediterranean off Egypt's north coast, killing 30 people and triggering an operation in which another 150 were rescued, officials said.

The vessel overturned off the port city of Rosetta, police and health officials said, with the total number of people on board not immediately clear.

The tragedy comes months after the EU's border agency Frontex warned growing numbers of migrants bound for Europe were turning to Egypt as a departure point for the perilous sea journey.

Smugglers often overload the boats, some of them scarcely seaworthy, with passengers who have paid for the journey.

"Thirty bodies have been recovered," said health ministry official Adel Khalifa, updating an earlier toll.

Emergency workers had rescued 150 passengers, Khalifa and two police officials said.

The health ministry said earlier in a statement that 29 people had drowned "when a boat carrying illegal migrants capsized off the coast of Rosetta".

Hospitals were being prepared to receive more casualties, it added.

More than 10,000 people have died attempting to cross the Mediterranean for Europe since 2014, according to the United Nations.

Asylum-seekers have been seeking other ways to reach Europe since March, when Balkan countries closed the popular overland route and the EU agreed a deal with Turkey to halt departures.

"Egypt is starting to become a departure country," Frontex chief Fabrice Leggeri said in an interview with the Funke group of German regional newspapers in June.

"The number of boat crossings from Egypt to Italy has reached 1,000 (so far) this year," he said.

More than 300,000 migrants who have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year from various points of departure, the UN said this week.

The number is down from 520,000 in the first nine months of 2015.

Despite the lower numbers attempting the dangerous sea crossing, fatality rates had risen, with 2016 on track to be "the deadliest year on record in the Mediterranean Sea," said the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).

In June, a boat capsized near Sicily, drowning at least 169 migrants.

Earlier that month, a boat carrying hundreds of migrants sank off the Greek island of Crete and the bodies 104 migrants washed up on a beach in Libya.

Different patterns have emerged in the two European countries, Greece and Italy, which receive the vast majority of migrants.

Arrivals in Italy this year stood at 130,411, on a par with the 132,000 people who landed over the same period in 2015, said the UNHCR.

But Greece has seen 165,750 migrants and refugees land on its shores this year, a 57 percent drop against 2015 figures.

Arrivals began falling after a March deal between the European Union and Turkey on curbing migrant flows across the Mediterranean.

The European Union launched "Operation Sophia" last year to destroy smuggler boats that could be used to ferry migrants across the sea.

An EU official told AFP this month that almost 300 smuggler boats had been put out of commission in the past year.

The official, who did not want to be identified by name, said the migrants on the seized vessels were all transferred to the nearest safe ports and will be considered for asylum as refugees.</s>People gather along the shore of the Mediterranean Sea during a search for victims after a migrant boat capsized in Al Beheira, Egypt, Wednesday (Reuters photo)

BURG RASHID, Egypt — A boat carrying almost 600 people capsized off Egypt's coast on Wednesday, killing at least 43, in the latest disaster among migrants trying to reach Europe.

The boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea off Burg Rashid, a village in the northern Beheira province. Officials said 31 bodies had been found, 20 men, 10 women and one child. A Reuters correspondent later saw a fishing boat bring in 12 more bodies, bringing the total so far to 43.

Rescue workers have so far saved 154 people, officials said, meaning about 400 could still be missing.

"Initial information indicates that the boat sank because it was carrying more people than its limit. The boat tilted and the migrants fell into the water," a senior security official in Beheira told Reuters.

The boat had been carrying Egyptian, Sudanese, Eritrean, and Somali migrants, officials said.

At a coastguard checkpoint in Burg Rashid, where the Mediterranean meets the Nile, dozens gathered, anxiously waiting for news of missing relatives.

"I am not going to leave until I see Mohamed," Ratiba Ghonim wailed. Her 16-year-old brother had left an impoverished village nearby in search of a better life.

"It is his destiny to leave yesterday and come back dead today. They still haven't pulled his body out of the water."

Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said all resources possible would be directed into the rescue mission and that those responsible had to be brought to justice.

It was not immediately clear where the boat had been heading. Officials said they believed it was going to Italy.

More and more people have been trying to cross to Italy from the African coast over the summer months, particularly from Libya, where people-traffickers operate with relative impunity, but also from Egypt.

Some 320 migrants and refugees drowned off the Greek island of Crete in June. Migrants who survived told authorities their boat had set sail from Egypt.

Some 206,400 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean this year, according to the International Organisation for Migration.

More than 2,800 deaths were recorded between January and June, compared with 1,838 during the same period last year.

World leaders, including Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, gathered in New York this week at the United Nations General Assembly to discuss the migrant crisis.

Some 1.3 million migrants reached Europe's shores last year fleeing war and economic hardship, prompting bitter rows among states over how to share responsibility.

If they survive the perilous maritime journey, migrants this year face stronger EU border controls.

Mohamed Nasrawy, an Egyptian fisherman, said he knew seven people on the shipwrecked vessel, two of whom were still missing.

He made an abortive effort to travel to Greece a year ago.

"Look how this incident has shocked people, but tonight more people are going to set sail," he told Reuters.

"The poverty that they are living in is what is pushing them. Although we are not Europeans, they take good care of people, while our country doesn't."</s>A boat carrying migrants capsized Wednesday off the coast of Egypt, killing at least 29 people and sparking an operation in which another 150 were rescued, officials said.

Search and rescue teams were looking for more survivors following the tragedy which took place off the Mediterranean port city of Rosetta, two police officials said.

It comes months after the EU's border agency Frontex warned growing numbers of migrants bound for Europe were turning to Egypt as a departure point for the perilous sea journey.

Smugglers often overload the boats, some of them scarcely seaworthy, with passengers who have paid for the journey.

"Twenty-nine people have died and five were injured when a boat carrying illegal migrants capsized off the coast of Rosetta," the health ministry said in a statement.

The total number of people who were on board the boat was not immediately clear.

The health ministry said hospitals were being prepared to receive more casualties.

More than 10,000 people have died crossing the Mediterranean to Europe since 2014, according to the United Nations.

With the closure of the Balkans route popular with migrants seeking to reach northern European countries, as well as an EU deal with Turkey to halt departures, asylum seekers have been turning to other options.

"Egypt is starting to become a departure country," Frontex chief Fabrice Leggeri said in an interview with the Funke group of German regional newspapers in June.

"The number of boat crossings from Egypt to Italy has reached 1,000 (so far) this year," he said.

More than 300,000 migrants who have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year from various points of departure, the UN said this week.

The number is down from 520,000 in the first nine months of 2015.

Despite the lower numbers attempting the dangerous sea crossing, fatality rates had risen, with 2016 on track to be "the deadliest year on record in the Mediterranean Sea," said the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).

In June, a boat capsized near Sicily, drowning at least 169 migrants.

Earlier that month, a boat carrying hundreds of migrants sank off the Greek island of Crete and the bodies 104 migrants washed up on a beach in Libya.

Different patterns have emerged in the two European countries, Greece and Italy, which receive the vast majority of migrants.

Arrivals in Italy this year stood at 130,411, on a par with the 132,000 people who landed over the same period in 2015, said the UNHCR.

But Greece has seen 165,750 migrants and refugees land on its shores this year, a 57 percent drop against 2015 figures.

Arrivals began falling after a March deal between the European Union and Turkey on curbing migrant flows across the Mediterranean.
A migrant boat carrying some 600 passengers capsizes off the coast of Kafr el-Sheikh Governorate, Egypt, killing at least 52 people, with hundreds more missing.