Rome: A week of shipwrecks and death in the Mediterranean culminated yesterday with harrowing testimony from migrant survivors, who said another 500 people including 40 children had drowned, bringing the number of feared dead to 700.

Rescuers help migrants board the Italian Navy ship after the boat they were aboard sunk. Pic/AP

Toll tally
Brought to safety in the Italian ports of Taranto and Pozzallo, survivors told the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) and Save the Children how their boat sank on Thursday morning after a high-seas drama which saw one woman decapitated. “We’ll never know the exact number, we’ll never know their identity, but survivors tell that over 500 human beings died,” Carlotta Sami, UNHRC spokeswoman, said on Twitter.