1st LD: UN chief calls for "robust search, rescue capacity" in Mediterranean after deadly tragedy

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday called for "comprehensive and collective" response from the international community to ensure "a robust search and rescue capacity in the Mediterranean" after as many as 700 people were feared dead when a ship capsized overnight off the Libyan coast.

"The secretary-general is shocked and deeply saddened by reports that a ship carrying as many as 700 migrants and refugees has capsized off the Libyan coast," said a statement issued here by Ban's spokesman.

This tragedy is the latest in a line of incidents in the last week, in which hundreds of other migrants and refugees are reported to have died, said the statement. "These are urgent reminders of the critical need for a robust search and rescue capacity in the Mediterranean."

Nearly 700 migrants are suspected to have died at sea when a packed ship capsized in international waters south of Italy's Sicily on Saturday night, local reports said Sunday. Endite