Sixty-One Migrants Drown In Shipwreck Off Libya – IOM
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Libya reported that sixty-one migrants, comprising women and children, lost their lives in a shipwreck near Libya, perishing at sea.
IOM, in a social media post on platform X, relayed the accounts of survivors who mentioned that the vessel, transporting approximately 86 individuals, set off from Zwara in Libya, situated roughly 110 kilometers (68 miles) away from Tripoli, the capital.
“The central Mediterranean continues to be one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes,” IOM said.
Fatal events in the current year involved a tragic incident in June, wherein a vessel carrying numerous migrants capsized near Greece after setting off from Tobruk, Libya. The intended journey to Italy ended in disaster, causing 78 confirmed fatalities, while the whereabouts of 518 individuals remain unknown, as per an IOM report.
According to the IOM report, in the first half of 2023, drowning emerged as the primary reason for fatalities along migration paths worldwide, resulting in 2,200 recorded deaths.
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The IOM report highlighted that the central Mediterranean route stood out as the most lethal, with 1,727 reported fatalities and instances of people going missing along its coast during that time frame. Tunisia recorded the highest number of deaths, with Libya following closely behind, according to the report.
The figures remain an undercount, IOM said in its report.
The number of sea migrants reaching Italy has nearly doubled in 2023 compared to the corresponding period in the previous year, totaling approximately 140,000 individuals arriving onshore. The majority, around 91%, originated from Tunisia, and the small Italian island of Lampedusa has faced the greatest impact from these arrivals.
In July, the European Union and Tunisia established a “strategic partnership” agreement aimed at addressing the surge in boats departing from Tunisia for Europe by focusing on efforts to combat human traffickers and enhance maritime border controls.
On Saturday, Britain and Italy revealed intentions to collectively fund the repatriation of stranded migrants in Tunisia, as per statements from both nations. However, specifics regarding the amount of financial aid were not disclosed.
Sixty-One Migrants Drown In Shipwreck Off Libya – IOM