Migrant Ship Sinks, 600 Missing in Mediterranean

Droves of people are leaving North Africa due to instability sweeping the region, but the journey to Europe is just as dangerous.

As many as 600 African migrants are feared dead after a ship carrying them across the Mediterranean Sea sank over the weekend. The ship sank off the coast of Libya, but a sister vessel that witnessed the ship slip beneath the sea was carrying mostly Somalis headed for Lampedusa, an Italian island that's become a prime landing spot for migrants fleeing political upheaval in North Africa. The loss comes after more than 60 migrants starved to death aboard a much smaller boat last month after it lost radio contact and was adrift for two weeks in the sea. Rights groups estimate that 30,000 people have fled Libya through Tunisia to European shores, often in overcrowded boats traversing perilous seas.