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A boating accident kills at least 74 people. The deceased are refugees who wanted to flee Libya.
At least 74 refugees die in a boating accident. (Symbol image)
Keystone
When a boat carrying refugees landed off the coast of western Libya, at least 74 people drowned. This was announced Thursday by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). More than 120 people are said to have been aboard the boat, including children.
47 survivors were brought ashore by the coast guard and fishermen, the IOM said. 31 bodies were recovered. The search for victims continues.
Several incidents in the last few days
Civil war has been raging in Libya for nearly ten years. In the chaos, the North African country has turned into one of the most important transit areas for refugees traveling to Europe. From time to time, migrants are killed in accidents in the Mediterranean. IOM said two boats capsized and at least 19 people drowned in the last two days alone.
On Wednesday, private Spanish rescuers rescued more than 110 migrants from Libya from the emergency. Shortly after being rescued from the Mediterranean, a six-month-old refugee child died on the “Open Arms” ship, according to aides. As announced Thursday by Open Arms, the team pulled five people who died during the operation out of the water. With the baby, the death toll has risen to six.
Many people continue to leave with small boats in North African countries Tunisia and Libya to reach Europe. Several boats with hundreds of people have landed on the island of Lampedusa in recent days. According to official data, a total of almost 31 thousand migrants arrived in Italy in 2020. In 2019, there were just under 10,000 people in the same period.
(SDA)
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