Around 40 migrants drown in sinking off Italy: NGO

Around 40 migrants died when an inflatable boat carrying more than 100 people sank off the coast of Italy, Save the Children quoted survivors as saying on Tuesday.

"They said there were 137 people aboard an inflatable boat that deflated or exploded -- it wasn't clear -- and that some of them fell overboard. Some said 'very many' died, others said 'around 40'", Giovanna di Benedetto of Save the Children told AFP.

The survivors were part of a group of close to 200 migrants who were on two separate boats and were rescued in recent days in waters off Sicily.