PHOTO GALLERY: 700 migrants feared dead in ‪Mediterranean‬ shipwreck

Multimedia

Migrants arrive on the boat at the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo April 19, 2015 (Photo: Reuters)

A migrant is helped disembark in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015 (Photo: AP)

A rescue vessel is seen during the search and rescue operation underway after a boat carrying migrants capsized overnight, with up to 700 feared dead, in this still image taken from video released by Italian Guardia di Finanza April 19, 2015 (Photo: Reuters)

A woman carries a child as she disembark in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015 (Photo: AP)

A rescuer, right, cradles a child in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015 (Photo: AP)

A child is carried by a rescue worker (R) as he arrives with migrants on the boat at the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo April 19, 2015 (Photo: Reuters)

An Italian coast guard vessel is seen with an helicopter during the search and rescue operation underway after a boat carrying migrants capsized overnight, with up to 700 feared dead, in this still image taken from video April 19, 2015 (Photo: Reuters)

A child (C) is carried into bus as migrants arrive via boat at the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo April 20, 2015 (Photo: Reuters)

An Italian patrol ship arrived in Malta on Monday with 24 corpses recovered out of hundreds feared drowned after a migrant boat capsized in the Mediterranean, in one of the worst disasters yet in a growing humanitarian crisis.

The death toll from Sunday's shipwreck off the coast of Libya was uncertain after officials said there had been at least 700 people on board, some reportedly locked in the hold.

Italian media said a Bangladeshi survivor brought by helicopter to hospital in Sicily told police there had been 950 passengers on the boat, which sank when people on board rushed to one side to attract attention from a passing merchant ship.

The Italian coast guard said on Monday 28 people had been saved from where the ship sank, 70 miles (110 km) off the coast of Libya. The survivors are on the same boat as the victims and will be brought to Italy later in the day.