Around 170 refugees missing following 2 boat incidents in the Mediterranean

An estimated 170 African migrants are feared dead after two dinghies sank separately in the Mediterranean on Friday. The Italian Navy rescued three people from a capsized boat heading from Libya while 117 others appear to be missing, a spokesperson for the UN’s migration agency (IOM) reported. Most refugees were from West Africa, according to the survivors. The rescue crew saw at least three bodies in the water who appeared to be dead, the ION spokesman added. An Italian naval patrol plane spotted the vessel earlier but failed to help due to lack of fuel, local media report. In a second incident, 53 migrants are reported missing after a dinghy from Morocco suffered a collision in the Alboran Sea according to Spanish non-governmental organisation Caminando Fronteras.