Rome: Up to 400 migrants were feared to have drowned yesterday after trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea by four boats in a bid to reach Europe.
<img title="The incident came exactly a year after 800 died in a similar tragedy. File pic/Getty Images" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/apr/refugees.jpg" alt="The incident came exactly a year after 800 died in a similar tragedy. File pic/Getty Images" /> The incident came exactly a year after 800 died in a similar tragedy. File pic/Getty Images
Most of the victims were thought to have been fleeing Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea and had hoped to land in Italy. Italy&rsquo;s president, Sergio Mattarella, confirmed this morning there had been an incident in which "it seems several hundred people have died".
It came exactly a year after 800 died in a similar tragedy and raised concerns that more migrants would try the risky crossing with the spring bringing calmer seas.
The latest incident came to light when social media posts from some of the migrants&rsquo; families were shared widely online. Italy&rsquo;s foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni told reporters he was waiting for more details.
But he added: "What is sure is that we are again with a tragedy in the Mediterranean, exactly one year after the tragedy we had... in Libyan waters."
"This is another strong reason for Europe to commit itself not to build walls."
Photographs of a handwritten list of victims&rsquo; names was being distributed on websites by Somali-speaking users.
The Somali ambassador to Egypt, from where the migrants were believed to have departed, confirmed the reports.
Somali media outlets said rescue workers had so far only managed to save 29 passengers from the water. Some had reportedly been taken to one of the Greek islands.

The victims, largely Somalis, were crammed into four boats that sunk in the Mediterranean Sea

400 feared drowned as refugees' boats capsize in Mediterranean

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400 feared drowned as refugees' boats capsize in Mediterranean

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