At least 20 migrants perish in shipwreck off Egypt

Cairo, Sep 21 (IANS/AKI) At least 20 people drowned when a packed migrant boat sank off Egypt's Mediterranean coast, reports from the region said on Wednesday.

Coast guard rescued around 150 survivors and recovered some 20 corpses from the sea after the shipwreck close to the town of Rashid in Beheira governorate, Arabic satellite news channel Al-Arabiya reported.

Al-Arabiya said there were 300 people aboard the boat, but unnamed Egyptian sources quoted by satellite TV network Al-Jazeera said there may have been up to 600 people on board.

Egypt's Health Undersecretary Alaa Osman declared a state of emergency in Beheira, Egptian daily Youm7 said on its website.

A total of 3,213 people died crossing the Mediterranean in 2016 till September 18, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Sunday.