Hundreds missing as migrant ship capsizes off Libya

PALERMO , Italy, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- As many as 700 migrants could be aboard an overcrowded fishing boat which capsized off the coast of Libya Wednesday in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Irish Navy reported "a significant loss of life" and Cmdr. Filippo Marini of the Italian Coast Guard said 100 people have been rescued and are on board an Irish ship. A vessel of the Doctors Without Borders humanitarian organization, and ships and helicopters of the Italian Navy and Coast Guard, are aiding in the rescue.

The fishing boat capsized when it met rough weather about 15 miles from the Libyan coast.

Over 2,000 migrants have died thus far in 2015, attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, the International Organization for migration said Tuesday in a statement, adding, "as in 2014, the overwhelming majority died in the Channel of Sicily on the Central Mediterranean route connecting Libya and Italy, where unseaworthy vessels used by smugglers and traffickers significantly increase the likelihood of tragedies occurring."