Fishermen rescued 33 Egyptian would-be migrants after their boat sunk in the Mediterranean Sea near the maritime border with Libya, the Egyptian foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Seven passengers remain missing following Saturday night's disaster, a statement said. "Libyan authorities informed Egypt's consul general in Benghazi that 33 Egyptians survived the shipwreck and that seven others are still missing," the statement said, adding that fishermen had rescued the survivors. The ministry denied initial reports suggesting that three bodies had been plucked out of the water. According to the foreign ministry, the 40 Egyptians were trying to sneak into Libya in a bid to make their way illegally into Europe in search of jobs and a better life. The Libyan state news agency Lana reported on Monday that the boat was carrying around 40 illegal migrants and capsized off Libya's east coast near the border with Egypt, with only one passenger surviving the tragedy.
