Dozens reported dead as migrant boat sinks in Mediterranean

Dozens of migrants have drowned in the Mediterranean after a boat carrying an estimated 137 people sank south of Sicily, Save the Children said.

At least 46 migrants are feared to have drowned in the Mediterranean after falling out of a rubber boat as a rescue ship approached, survivors  said.

Standing on the edge of a packed inflatable dinghy, dozens overbalanced and fell into the sea, according to testimonies gathered by the International Organisation for Migration.

The survivors arrived in the city of Catania Tuesday afternoon.

At least 1,750 people have died this year trying to cross the Mediterranean, a 20-fold increase on the same period in 2014.

Giovanna di Benedetto, Save the Children's representative in Catania, said the latest sinking is thought to have happened on Sunday, but the exact toll was not known.