An inflatable rubber boat carrying migrants capsized off the Libyan coast and 73 people were missing and presumed dead, the UN migration agency said on Wednesday. It was the latest tragedy involving immigrants seeking a better life in Europe.
The UN International Organization for Migration said in a statement that the disaster occurred on Tuesday and Libyan authorities had recovered 11 bodies.
He said the boat, packed with around 80 migrants, reportedly left from the village of Qasr al-Akhyar, 50 miles east of the capital Tripoli. The immigrants were headed for European shores, he said.
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The dead included a woman and 10 men, said Safa Msehli, an IOM spokesman.
It was not immediately clear what happened to the boat, but footage showed the rubber dinghy broken and deflated washed up on shore.
Seven migrants, all men, survived the mishap and washed up on Libyan shores, the UN said, and were in “extremely dire conditions”. They were taken to a hospital.
Migrants seeking a better life in Europe often travel across the Mediterranean Sea from Libya. (AP Photo)
Qasr al-Akhyar officials shared images online showing Libyan Red Crescent workers handling dead bodies washed up on shore. The footage also showed the broken inflatable rubber boat.
A survivor said in a different video shared by the municipality that dozens of migrants died in the shipwreck. He said they paid between $3,000 and $5,000 each to the smugglers to make the ill-fated journey.
In video comments, Salem Awag, the top official at Qasr al-Akhyar, called on authorities in Tripoli to step up support for the village to help protect the coastline and prevent further crossings.
Tuesday’s shipwreck was the latest tragedy in the central Mediterranean Sea, a key route for migrants. The death toll on that route has reached at least 130 migrants this year, the IOM said.
In 2022, more than 1,450 migrants died, according to IOM’s Missing Migrants Project.
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“This situation is intolerable,” said Safa Msehli, a spokesman for the organization. He called on governments to increase search and rescue efforts and “establish clear and safe disembarkation mechanisms, as well as safe and regular pathways for migration.”
Just off the coast of Libya, at least 529 migrants were reported dead and another 848 missing last year, while more than 24,680 were intercepted and returned to the country, according to the IOM.
Libya has become the main transit point for migrants from Africa and the Middle East trying to reach Europe in recent years. The oil-rich country was thrown into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising that ousted and killed autocrat Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.
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People smugglers in recent years have profited from the chaos in war-torn Libya, smuggling migrants across the desert country’s long borders with six nations. Migrants are then often packed into ill-equipped rubber boats and embarked on risky sea voyages.
In recent years, European countries have put pressure on the Libyan authorities and the coast guard to stop and intercept migrants trying to cross to European shores.
Many of those who have been intercepted and returned to Libya, including women and children, are being held in government-run detention centers where they suffer abuse, including torture, rape and extortion, according to human rights groups.
