The Egyptian Navy has lifted 32 more dead bodies from the Mediterranean Sea after Wednesday's migrant boat disaster off the north coast of Egypt.
The total number of bodies recovered now stands at 87 after the boat "Mawkeb al-Rasoul" run by human traffickers capsized with more than 600 illegal migrants on board.
The migrants were aiming to reach Europe from Egypt, bypassing visa and customs regulations, part of a massive wave of illegal migration to Europe in recent years.
Alaa Othman, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health, said in a statement Friday, that the dead victims recovered on Friday morning were Egyptians, Arabs and African nationals. He said naval and rescue personnel had recovered 55 bodies over the past two days.
The boat carrying more than 600 illegal migrants capsized on Wednesday off the coast of Kafr al-Sheikh, the latest in a string of such disasters between the coast of North Africa and Europe.
Survivors of this recent incident said that they were taken by speed boat to the "Mawkeb al-Rasoul", which was waiting several miles offshore. As more and more migrants were placed on the waiting boat, it became clear that it was overloaded and would soon capsize.
Many peopled drowned before rescue workers were alerted to the disaster and were able to respond.
Egypt is working with several European nations to halt human trafficking activities, which are run by criminal gangs that charge huge amounts of money to transport migrants illegally to Europe, often in very dangerous conditions.
Human trafficking gangs have been linked to wider organized crime activities, as well as terrorism in the region.
Egyptian security forces often report operations that successfully foil human trafficking attempts, both by land and sea.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
