(Tripoli) At least 61 migrants are missing and presumed dead after their makeshift boat sank off the coast of Libya, the office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Libya told AFP.
“A large number of migrants, around 61, are presumed to have perished due to strong waves”, having submerged their boat “parting from Zouara, in the north-west of Libya with 86 migrants on board”, according to the same source .
The majority are nationals of Nigeria, Gambia and other African countries, and among the victims “include children and women”, it was added.
A total of 25 people were rescued and transferred to a Libyan detention center in Tariq Al Sekka, near Tripoli.
“An IOM team was able to provide medical support and they are all in good health,” according to the same source.
“More than 2,250 people have lost their lives in the central Mediterranean this year,” lamented on X (formerly Twitter) Flavio Di Giacomo, IOM spokesperson for the Mediterranean, reporting the heavy toll of this umpteenth shipwreck.
“This dramatic figure shows that unfortunately we are not doing enough to save lives at sea,” he added.
Libya and Tunisia are the two main departure points in the central Mediterranean for migrants trying to reach Europe by landing illegally on the Italian coast.
According to the latest figures from the UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) as of December 10, more than 153,000 migrants have arrived in Italy this year, from Tunisia and Libya.