Over 40 migrants drown off Libya’s western shores
Libyan coastguards saved 85 migrants off Garabulli shores in eastern Tripoli on Saturday while about 40 more immigrants are believed to have drowned, according to Libyan Coast Guard sources.
“Fishing boats spotted the immigrants at sea off Garabulli shores. Due to the heavy load on the rubber boat, the wooden base got broken and it started sinking,” Muammar Mohamed Milad, a local coast guard official told Reuters.
“According to the survivors about 40 others are missing, including seven children,” he said.
The body of one woman had already been recovered.
More than 85,000 migrants have arrived in Italy so far this year. Some 2,150 are known to have died attempting the crossing over the same period, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
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