- A boat capsizes in the Mediterranean Sea off the Libyan coast.
- Rescue teams provide emergency medical care to survivors.
- Ship carrying migrants and refugees from Africa to Al-Zawiya.
The United Nations migration agency said Monday that 53 people were dead or missing after a boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya. Only two survivors were rescued.
The International Organization for Migration said the boat overturned north of Zuwara on Friday.
“Only two Nigerian women were rescued during a search and rescue operation led by Libyan authorities,” the IOM said in a statement, adding that one of the survivors said she lost her husband and the other said she “lost her two babies in the tragedy.”
IOM said its teams provided emergency medical care to the two survivors upon disembarkation.
“According to survivors’ accounts, the boat, carrying migrants and refugees of African nationality, left Al-Zawiya, Libya, around 11 p.m. on February 5. About six hours later, it capsized after taking on water,” the agency said.
“IOM deplores the loss of life in a new deadly incident on the Central Mediterranean route.”
The Geneva-based agency said trafficking and smuggling networks exploited migrants along the route from North Africa to Southern Europe, profiting from dangerous crossings on unseaworthy boats while exposing people to “serious abuse”.
It calls for stronger international cooperation to combat the networks, as well as safe and regular migration routes to reduce risks and save lives.
