SCORES DEAD AS MIGRANT BOAT SINKS IN MEDITERRANEAN

Migrant boat caught at the Mediterranean (Photo: ARA News file)

Tripoli, 14 Dzulhijjah 1435/8 October 2014 (MINA) – The Peace Center for the Victims of Human Trafficking and Violence said that 190 dead bodies were found on the Libyan coast in the last two days, and aside form a small number of Syrians who were trying to reach Europe through smuggler by sea, most of them were African.

“Search operations continue to find others,” the center reported, ARA News quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The centre published photographs verifying the death of several Syrians who had been on a boat heading to Italy last Thursday, before sinking in the Mediterranean.

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Media sources reported that about ten African migrants had died and dozens others were lost at sea, following the sinking of a boat carrying them from the Libyan coast.

An officer in the Libyan coast guard confirmed the news of the boat’s sinking, without providing any further information on the incident.

The sources also reported, based on the testimonies of several survivors, that the Libyan navy rescued approximately 80 people, and recovered 10 bodies, adding that the boat was carrying between 170 to 180 people.

Activists commented on the differing body counts stating, “there are boats sinking in the Mediterranean Sea that go unreported, and the victims’ bodies appear on the shores of Libya and Tunisia later on”.

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Observers stressed the fact that the current period is one of the most difficult for travelling and navigation in the sea as the current wave height is more that 15 feet. (T/P001/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)