Over 100 illegal immigrants drowned off Libyan coast

BY Libyan Express Jun 30, 2018 - 12:01

More than 330 migrants rescued by Italian coast guard and other European vessels have already disembarked at Sicilian ports, Italian media reported.

The bodies of three babies have been recovered after a boat carrying around 120 migrants capsized off Libya.

The country’s coastguard says about 100 of them are missing at sea and feared dead.

Another 16 people who had been on the rubber dingy were rescued.

It was unclear where the smugglers’ boat had left from or when.

A coastguard spokesman quoted a Yemeni survivor as saying the vessel was carrying 125 migrants before it capsized east of the Libyan capital Tripoli.

The survivors were later brought back to the town of Tajoura, east of the city.

A Spanish rescue ship patrolling the Mediterranean said Italian officials had told it to allow the Libyan coast guard to respond to the smuggling boat’s distress call.

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