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The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Saturday that a minimum of 61 migrants were unaccounted for and presumed deceased following the sinking of their vessel off the coast of Libya, marking the latest devastating incident in the North African region.
The migrants are thought to have perished due to tumultuous waves that overwhelmed their boat after departing from Zuwara, situated on Libya’s northwest coast, as stated in the IOM’s communication to AFP.
Survivor accounts indicate that approximately 86 migrants, including women and children from Nigeria, The Gambia, and other African nations, were on board the ill-fated vessel.
The IOM revealed that 25 individuals were successfully rescued and transferred to a Libyan detention centre, emphasizing their satisfactory health condition and the medical assistance provided by IOM personnel.
Libya and Tunisia serve as key points of departure for migrants undertaking perilous sea journeys with the aspiration of reaching Europe via Italy.
According to the United Nations refugee agency, over 153,000 migrants arrived in Italy this year from Tunisia and Libya, prompting Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who leads a far-right government, to implement stringent measures against illegal migration, a promise that contributed to her electoral victory last year.
Prime Minister Meloni’s administration has actively curtailed the activities of humanitarian ships involved in rescuing individuals attempting the hazardous North African crossing.
During a visit to Rome on Saturday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak commended Meloni’s approach to addressing illegal migration. Both leaders pledged to prevent migrant boat landings on their respective countries’ shores and intensify efforts against human traffickers.
The United Nations characterizes the central Mediterranean migration route as the world’s deadliest, claiming hundreds of lives annually.
Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesperson for the IOM, highlighted on the social media platform X that over 2,250 people lost their lives this year on the central Mediterranean migrant route, underscoring the insufficient efforts to save lives at sea.
The tragic sinking of the Adriana, a fishing boat carrying 750 people from Libya to Italy, occurred in international waters off southwest Greece on June 14. Survivors, mainly Syrians, Pakistanis, and Egyptians, reported that only 104 individuals survived, with 82 bodies recovered.
In Libya, over a decade of violence since the ousting and death of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in a NATO-backed uprising has facilitated the rise of human traffickers accused of various abuses, from extortion to slavery.
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