LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that at least 61 out of about 86 migrants who were onboard a boat off the Libyan coast are feared dead. It is believed that high waves caused by a massive storm swamped their vessel after it left from Zuwara, on Libyàs northwest coast. The IOM confirmed that 25 migrants were rescued and transferred to a Libyan detention centre. They all received medical support from IOM staff in Libya and are in good health. According to some of the survivors, the migrants, including women and children, were from Nigeria, Gambia and other African countries. According to the United Nations refugee agency, Libya and Tunisia are principal departure points for migrants risking dangerous sea voyages in hopes of reaching Europe, via Italy. More than 153,000 migrants arrived in Italy this year from Tunisia and Libya. The United Nations has described the central Mediterranean migration route as the world’s deadliest, claiming hundreds of lives each year.
Flavio Di Giacomo, an IOM spokesperson, wrote on social media platform X on Saturday that more than 2,250 people died this year on the central Mediterranean migrant route, a “dramatic figure which demonstrates that unfortunately not enough is being done to save lives at sea”.
foto: Agenzia Fotogramma
(ITALPRESS).
