BEVERLY HILLS, January 21, (THEWILL) – At least, 43 West African migrants trying to reach Europe, have drowned off the coast of Libya in the central Mediterranean.
United Nations agencies said on Wednesday, that the migrants drowned on Tuesday after their boat capsized in rough seas, making it the first shipwreck of 2021 in the central Mediterranean.
Ten survivors were rescued and brought to shore by coastal security in Zuwahra, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in a joint statement.
War-ravaged Libya is a major route for migrants seeking to reach Europe. The U.N. agencies called for reactivating state-led search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean and for a halt to returning migrants to “unsafe ports”.
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