Only 28 rescued as migrant ship carrying 700 capsizes off Italy
A major air and sea search is under way south of the Italian island of Lampedusa after a migrant ship capsized.
Italy's ANSA news agency said about 700 people were aboard and only 28 people have been rescued so far.
Barbara Molinario, spokeswoman for the United Nations refugee agency, said the coastguard operation is continuing. She added that the number of victims is not known.
The capsizing comes as a wave of migrants try to leave Libya for Italian shores. At least 900 have died this year as boats capsized.
If anywhere close to 700 people are confirmed to have died, this would be the deadliest toll from a single capsizing. Last week, 400 people were presumed drowned when another boat capsized.
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Italy says it will continue rescuing migrants but demands that the European Union increases assistance to shelter and rescue them.
Italy says the EU's border control agency, Frontex, must take a greater role in coordinating rescue operations. Frontex is technically a border patrol operation, not responsible for search and rescue efforts.
Because most migrants want to reach family or other members of their community in northern Europe, Italian governments have pushed for those countries to do more, particularly by taking in the migrants while their requests for asylum or refugee status are examined.
The European Union's commissioner for migration, Dmitris Avramopoulos, says a new policy will be presented in May. He also has called for other EU members to provide more aid to Italy.
