About 300 Migrants Said to Have Died Crossing Mediterranean

Migrants who survived a crossing from Libya arriving on the Italian island of Lampedusa on Wednesday. Credit Antonio Parrinello/Reuters

ROME — An estimated 300 migrants were reported dead on Wednesday as survivors recounted harrowing tales of small boats being overwhelmed by waves, throwing scores of victims into deadly cold Mediterranean waters, humanitarian organizations said.

The migrants belonged to the same group as the 29 sub-Saharan Africans who died of hypothermia despite a perilous rescue mission by the Italian Coast Guard this week more than 100 miles south of the island of Lampedusa.READ MORE