About 12 migrants were reported to have drowned and some 116 were rescued after their boat capsized near the Egyptian port of Alexandria, security officials said.

The boat sank early on Friday. The survivors, mostly Palestinians and Syrians, were taken to a naval base.

The incident comes a week after at least 311 migrants died when their boat sank off an Italian island.Only 155 people survived the disaster near Lampedusa - divers are still searching for bodies there.

Alexandria's security chief, Amin Ezzeddin said that the survivors of the latest incident included 40 Syrians, 72 Palestinians and four Egyptians. They were initially taken to a naval base in the Alexandria district of Ras al-Tin and then to a police station.

According to the Maritime surveillance report, the accident follows another capsizing understood to have happened 10 days ago, also involving Syrians and Palestinians off the coast of Alexandria.

More than 3,400 refugees have attempted to make an illegal crossing from Egypt over to Europe since August this year, according to the UNHCR. Many are Syrian and Palestinians escaping conflict in their countries.