Toll rises to 112 in migrant shipwreck off Egypt

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Cairo: The number of migrants who perished in a shipwreck off Egypt`s Mediterranean port city of Rosetta has reached 112, authorities said on Friday.

"The toll might rise because rescue efforts are still going on," Xinhua news agency quoted Health Minister Khaled Megahed as saying.

The migrant boat that sank on Wednesday was carrying about 600 persons on board whose planned destination was Italian shores.

The boat departed from a point between Rashid and Baltim, where the coast is not very populated. The boats carrying migrants usually depart from this area with most of them bound for the Italian mainland.

The number of migrants trying to reach Europe using Egypt as a departure point has increased in recent months.

So far this year, until September 20, some 2,856 persons, mainly from Libya, have died trying to reach Europe via the so-called central Mediterranean route.