After a boat accident with migrants in the Mediterranean, 30 people are missing. A boat with a total of 47 people on board had been in international waters off the Libyan coast since Saturday, the Italian coast guard announced on Sunday.

17 people could be saved accordingly. The rescue operation took place outside of Italy's area of ​​responsibility, it said. The Alarm Phone aid project reported on Saturday to the Italian, Maltese and Libyan authorities that the boat was in distress.

Continue to search for missing persons

According to the coast guard, the Libyan authorities, which would have been responsible for the search and rescue operations in this area, asked for assistance in the rescue. A nearby merchant ship therefore began to bring the migrants on board. The boat capsized.

The rescued people would now be taken to Italy. However, two of the 17 rescued needed medical attention, which is why the ship first went to Malta to bring them ashore for treatment as quickly as possible. The search for the missing continues.

More than 20 people die off Madagascar

At least 22 migrants died in a boat accident off the coast of the African island nation of Madagascar. 23 people were rescued. The search for survivors continued on Sunday evening, the responsible authorities said.

According to initial findings, the boat was on its way to the French overseas island of Mayotte, which lies off Africa's southeast coast between Madagascar and the mainland. Boats carrying people from Madagascar keep making their way from the north-west coast of the island nation. In February, for example, the Coast Guard stopped a boat with 33 Malagasy people on board off Mayotte.