Dozens die after migrant boat capsizes off Egyptian coast

A boat carrying migrants heading to Europe capsized Wednesday off Egypt's coast near Alexandria, killing at least 42 people, according to Egyptian officials.

The army gave the updated toll in a statement, saying it had “thwarted an illegal immigration attempt” and the boat had been nearly 14 miles off the coast when it sank, the Associated Press reported.

Egypt’s official news agency MENA said the boat was carrying 600 people when it sank. Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said the total number of dead was still unknown.

Local official Alaa Osman from Beheira province said 150 people had been rescued, but bodies were still being pulled from the water, the AP said. He said the migrants were from several African countries.

More than a million migrants entered Europe last year, many of them fleeing conflict and poverty in such countries as Syria, Iraq and Eritrea. Thousands of illegal migrants have made the dangerous voyage across the Mediterranean Sea in recent years. And thousands have drowned.