Capsize ‘kills 57’ migrants

A boat carrying African migrants capsized off Libya’s coast Monday, leaving at least 57 people presumed dead, a UN migration official said, the latest disaster in the Mediterranean Sea involving migrants seeking a better life in Europe.

The vessel left the western coastal town of Khums on Sunday, said Safa Msehli, a spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration.

She said there were at least 75 migrants on board, including women and children. Among the 57 presumed drowned were 20 women and two children.

Eighteen of the migrants were rescued and returned to shore by fishermen and Libya’s coast guard, Msehli said.

The survivors, from Nigeria, Ghana and Gambia, reported the vessel had stopped due to an engine problem, then capsized amid bad weather.

Monday’s capsizing was the second sea disaster in less than a week off the Libyan coast involving Europe-bound migrants. At least 20 migrants went overboard from a vessel on Wednesday and were presumed dead, according to the UN migration agency.

A report earlier this month said the number of migrants who died attempting to reach Europe on dangerous sea crossings more than doubled so far this year, compared to 2020.