Up to 700 African migrants feared dead when boat capsizes near Libya

Up to 700 African migrants were feared dead on Sunday when their boat capsized off the coast of Libya overnight, the Times of Malta reported.

Twenty eight people were rescued in the incident, which happened in an area just off Libyan waters, 120 miles south of the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, the newspaper's website reported.

The emergency was declared at about midnight. The boat is believed to have capsized when migrants moved to one side of the vessel when a merchant ship approached.