April 10 (UPI) -- The Italian Coast Guard is leading an international effort on Monday to rescue a boat with at least 400 migrants that is adrift in the Mediterranean Sea and in danger of capsizing.
The agency said several rescue efforts are underway to help the boat that was believed to have left Libya Sunday overnight and which carries passengers in cramped positions and many in stressed conditions.
The boat was spotted by several nongovernmental organizations 170 miles southeast of Capo Passero, near the Calabria coast. The German organization Sea-Watch International called for assistance Sunday after discovering the boat that left Tobruk Libya.
"We found a boat with 400 people in distress," Sea-Watch International said on Twitter. "Nearby: two merchant ships that are ordered not to rescue, instead one was asked by Malta to only supply the boat with fuel.
"Four hundred people are in imminent danger of death. The [European Union] must act immediately," Sea-Watch International said.
The Mediterranean support service Alarm Phone said that, while it reported the overloaded boat to authorities, it did not know of any planned rescue efforts. The group said a child, a pregnant woman, and a disabled person needed medical attention.
The group said some some distressed boaters jumped overboard while others remained onboard and unconscious.
Thousands who are escaping war, poverty, or persecution take their chances on such boats annually in hopes to reach Europe from Libya. While 105,131 people managed to reach Italy via the Mediterranean Sea in 2022, 1,368 were left dead or reported missing.
