Hundreds of migrants drown off Egyptian coast

Authorities have pulled 148 bodies from the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Egypt after a boat carrying an estimated 450 migrants capsized and sank. The boat was waiting out at sea for smaller vessels to bring migrants from various points along the Egyptian coastline. The crew packed people tightly aboard, even stowing some of them in the refrigerator below deck. Overcrowding is believed to have caused the boat to sink early Wednesday morning. Coast Guard and fishermen have recovered some survivors, who told how they paid $6,250 per family for passage from Egypt to Italy. The majority of the migrants were Egyptian, while others came from Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.