Six migrants reported dead at sea in central Mediterranean

MILAN (AP) — Migrants picked up at sea by a mercantile ship and brought to Italy by the coast guard have reported to the UN refugee agency that six people died of thirst during the voyage.  The Italian Coast Guard transported 26 migrants to the Sicilian port of Pozzallo who were among 28 people, mostly Syrians and Afghans, who had been rescued in recent days off the coast of Libya by a mercantile ship. The migrants arriving in Italy told officials from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees that six people, including a small child and a 12-year-old, had died of dehydration and their bodies had been left at sea. The victims appeared to have all been Syrians.