About 57 from Nigeria, Ghana, and the Gambia persons attempting to cross the Mediterranean sea have been drowned after their boat capsized on Monday off Libya’s coast near Khums, the latest tragic incident to have been recorded in the Mediterranean where over 1,100 persons have died this year.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) the bodies of the victims are yet to be recovered from the shipwreck.
“According to survivors brought to shore by fishermen and the coast guard, at least 20 women and two children were among those who drowned,” IOM spokeswoman Safa Msehli tweeted.
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She noted that the migrants who were mainly from West Africa, left from Khums, presumably to enter Europe.
“Despite an increase in arrivals in Europe, there is no crisis of numbers and arrivals remain manageable through better solidarity and improved governance and management of migration,” she said.
Vessels that embark on such voyages to Italy and other parts of Europe from Libya and Tunisia have risen in recent months as a result of improved weather conditions. Hundreds of thousands have made the perilous crossing in the last years, many fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.
