(ANSA) - Rome, April 18 - Over 400 people, most of them Somalis, travelling from Egypt aboard four migrants boats and heading towards Italy have gone missing in the Mediterranean, the Mail online reported on Monday citing the BBC's Arabic service, which, in turn, referred to local media.
Six dead bodies, meanwhile, were found on a migrant dinghy rescued late on Sunday some 20 miles off the coast of Libya in an operation coordinated by the Italian coast guard, ANSA sources said on Monday. The operation saved 108 people, including five women, from the dinghy that was headed towards Italy.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella said reports that around 400 asylum seekers had gone missing the the southern Mediterranean should stir profound reflection and debate. "There is truly a need to think," Mattarella said at a ceremony for the presentation of the candidates for Italy's David di Donatello film awards. "And the umpteenth tragedy in the Mediterranean today reminds us of this".