Up to 150 feared dead in shipwreck off Libya, says UNHCR
Source: AP/The Guardian
Up to 150 people are missing and feared drowned after the migrant boats they were travelling in capsized in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya, its coastguard and the UN refugee agency have said.
Ayoub Gassim, a spokesman for Libya’s coastguard, told the Associated Press two boats carrying about 300 people capsized about 75 miles (120km) east of the capital, Tripoli. About 137 people were rescued and returned to Libya, he said, and the coastguard has recovered just one body so far.
Charlie Yaxley, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency UNHCR, said 147 had been saved. “We estimate that 150 migrants are potentially missing and died at sea,” he said.
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The UNHCR says 164 migrants have died travelling from Libya to Europe since the start of the year, fewer than in previous years. But the UN says the journey is becoming more dangerous, with one out of four migrants dying at sea before reaching Europe.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jul/25/up-to-150-people-may-have-died-in-shipwreck-off-libya-says-unhcr
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