74 MIGRANTS DROWN AS EUROPE-BOUND SHIP CAPSIZES NEAR LIBYA
About 74 migrants have drowned after their Europe-bound ship capsized off the coast of Libya, the United Nations migration agency said on Thursday, November 12.
The ship was carrying over 120 migrants, including women and children, when it capsized off the coast of the Libyan port of Al-Khums.
It was reported that only 47 people were rescued by the Libyan coast guard and fishermen and brought to shore.
“The mounting loss of life in the Mediterranean is a manifestation of the inability of States to take decisive action to redeploy much needed, dedicated Search and Rescue capacity in the deadliest sea-crossing in the world,” Federico Soda, Libya’s Chief of Mission at the International Organization of Migration (IOM) said.
On Tuesday, 13 African migrants including three women and one child had drowned in a similar shipwreck off the Libyan coast.
The IOM said that it had observed an increase in the number of departures from the Libyan shores, with about 780 arrivals in Italy since the beginning of October.
It noted that more than 11,000 migrants had been intercepted and returned to Libya, where they face the risk of human rights violations and detention.
“IOM maintains that Libya is not a safe port for return and reiterates its call on the international community and the European Union to take urgent and concrete action to end the cycle of return and exploitation,” the IOM said in a statement.
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