Tragic Shipwreck Off Libya Coast: 61 Migrants Including Women and Children Feared Drowned
Around 61 migrants, including women and children, have drowned following a “tragic shipwreck” off the coast of Libya, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM). The boat had left the coastal city of Zuwara, situated west of the capital Tripoli and 60 km (37 miles) from the Tunisian border, with around 86 people on board, cited survivor accounts, the IOM’s Libya office said in a post.
“The central Mediterranean continues to be one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes,” the UN agency said in the post. Libya is a key transit point along the Central Mediterranean route, and each year, tens of thousands of people pour across Libya’s borders, many fleeing conflict and seeking better lives.
Tragedies at sea are not uncommon as many flee conflict, seeking better lives. According to latest figures released by UN refugee agency UNHCR, more than 2,500 people have died or gone missing this year alone in the Central Mediterranean, and “numbers in other parts of the world are likely to be very high.”
CNN has reached out to the UN IOM’s office in Libya for further details.