Only 29 people out of 400 are thought to have survived (File pic) (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

Hundreds of African migrants are believed to have drowned after a boat they were travelling in overturned in the Mediterranean Sea.

The vessel had apparently been carrying people fleeing several east African countries, including Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia.

The Somali ambassador based in Egypt confirmed to BBC Arabic more than 400 migrants were feared dead.

Since then, survivors say that up to 500 people died though coastguards have not been able to verify that number


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According to the surviving group, 240 migrants were heading towards Italy from the Libya.



Once in the Mediterranean, they were transferred across to a bigger boat already filled with ‘more than 300 people’, they tell the BBC.

The boat then capsized.

Emergency crews managed to save 41 migrants.

The incident comes a year after more than 800 people drowned on an overcrowded ship bound for Italy’s southernmost isle of Lampedusa.

The European Union deployed a round-the-clock flotilla that has saved thousands of lives on what remains one of the world’s most perilous journeys.

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