Migrant boat capsizes off Egypt, killing at least 42

CAIRO -- A boat carrying African migrants headed to Europe capsized off the Mediterranean coast near the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Wednesday, killing at least 42 people, Egyptian authorities said.

The army gave the toll in a statement, saying it had "thwarted an illegal immigration attempt" and the boat had been 12 nautical miles off the coast when it sank.

Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said the total number of dead was unknown.

Local official Alaa Osman from Beheira province said the migrants were from several African countries.

He said over 150 people have been rescued so far, but bodies still were being pulled from the water.

Egypt's official news agency MENA said the boat was carrying 600 people when it sank near the coast 112 miles north of the capital, Cairo.

Osman said the boat likely had come from Kafr el-Sheik province, farther to the east.

Thousands of illegal migrants have made the dangerous sea voyage across the Mediterranean in recent years fleeing war and poverty, mostly via lawless Libya.

Thousands of people have drowned.

The number of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Egypt to Europe has increased in the past year, EU border agency Frontex said earlier this month.

More than 12,000 migrants arrived in Italy from Egypt between January and September, compared to 7,000 in the same period last year, it said.

Experts say smugglers in Egypt mostly use old fishing vessels, stuffed way beyond capacity below and above deck.

New and more dangerous smuggling practices and attempts to reach Europe by riskier routes have led to a spike in the number of migrants dying as they attempt to cross the Mediterranean, the International Organization for Migration said in a report last month.