Migrant Death Toll Continues To Rise In Mediterranean

05:59

April 20, 2015

The Associated Press

Migrants arrive in the port of Messina after a rescue operation at sea on April 18, 2015 in Sicily. A surge of migrants pouring into Europe from across the Mediterranean won't end before chaos in Libya is controlled, Italy's prime minister said yesterday, as the Vatican condemned a deadly clash between Muslim and Christian refugees on one boat. Italian authorities have rescued more than 11,000 migrants making the often deadly voyage from North Africa in the past six days, with hundreds more expected, the coastguard said. (Giovanni Isolino/AFP/Getty Images)

Rescue crews are searching for survivors and bodies from what could be the deadliest migrant tragedy ever in the Mediterranean. There are reports of at least 700 and as many as 900 dead in the shipwreck near the Libyan coast over the weekend.

More than 400 are feared dead in another sinking. And new tragedies are unfolding today. Search and rescue operations are underway near Greece, after a wooden boat carrying dozens of migrants from Turkey ran aground. And Italy's premier says ships are responding to a pair of migrant emergencies near the Libyan coast.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli joins Here & Now's Lisa Mullins from Rome with the latest.

Guest

Sylvia Poggioli, senior European correspondent for NPR. She tweets @spoggioli1.

This segment aired on April 20, 2015.