50 migrants feared dead after Libya boat tragedy
At least 50 migrants, including women and children, are feared dead after a wooden boat carrying around 60 people capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off eastern Libya on Tuesday, according to two security sources.
Only 10 survivors were rescued near El-Bardaa Island, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) west of the city of Tobruk, close to Libya’s border with Egypt. The migrants were reportedly from several sub-Saharan African countries and had set off earlier that morning in hopes of reaching Europe, the sources said, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The latest tragedy underscores the continuing dangers of the central Mediterranean migration route, one of the world’s deadliest sea crossings. Libya has remained a major departure point for migrants and refugees fleeing war, persecution and poverty since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The security sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the boat was carrying approximately 60 people before it overturned. Search efforts were continuing, with dozens still unaccounted for.
The disaster came just one day after another migrant rescue operation near Tobruk. Security sources said rescue teams recovered four bodies and saved 24 people from a separate boat that had drifted in Libyan waters for two weeks.
According to one source, the vessel had carried 28 migrants who endured severe humanitarian conditions aboard a deteriorating boat, with four passengers dying before rescuers arrived. The survivors were transported to a local hospital for medical treatment.
The back-to-back incidents highlight the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean, where overcrowded and unseaworthy boats continue to claim lives as migrants attempt the perilous journey from North Africa to Europe.
The latest shipwreck also follows another deadly incident in June, when authorities in Tobruk recovered around 26 bodies after a migrant boat capsized near the city, reinforcing concerns over the increasing toll along the Libyan coast.
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