Two charities reported on Friday that a boat carrying approximately 500 migrants, including newborn and expectant women, has vanished in the central Mediterranean.
Wednesday morning, Alarm Phone, a group that receives distress calls from migrant boats, lost contact with the vessel.
The ship was stuck without an engine 320 kilometres (200 miles) north of Benghazi, Libya. And more than 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Malta or Sicily.
Thursday, the Italian NGO Emergency reported that its Life Support ship and another charity vessel, the Ocean Viking, had unsuccessfully searched for the missing boat for twenty-four hours.
A spokesperson for Emergency stated on Friday that the search was still ongoing. Adding that the migrants may have been caught up by another boat or repaired their engine to continue to Sicily.
Thursday, the Italian Coast Guard reported the rescue of 423 and 671 migrants in two separate operations. Alarm Phone reported that these operations were unrelated to the missing vessel.
