15 Dead in Migrant Boat Disaster
CAIRO (AP) – A migrant boat capsized early Friday off the coast of Libya, leaving at least 15 Egyptians dead, according to Libyan officials.
The boat was bound for Europe and transported dozens when he capsized around 2 a.m. near the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk, according to Marwan Al-Shaeri, the media spokesperson for the general administration of the Coast Guard in Tobruk.
Al-Shaeri confirmed that all those known to be dead were Egyptian nationals. The crews were able to save two Sudanese crew members, but a third is still missing.
He told the Associated Press that the sea is not suitable for any sailing activity, but could not say why the boat capsized.
We didn’t know how many people still lacked. Local aid group Abreen, which follows the activity of migrants, said 10 people on Friday afternoon that 10 people survived the incident.
Libya is a dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. The incidents to walnut near the country’s coast were common. In December, at least 61 migrants, including women and children, drowned the city of Zuwara on the west coast of Libya.
According to the Missing Migrants project managed by the International Organization for Migration, at least 434 migrants have been reported dead and 611 missing in Libya in the past eight months. More than 14,100 migrants were intercepted and returned to the country struck by chaos.
Libya was plunged into chaos following an uprising supported by NATO which overthrew and killed the longtime autocrat Moammar Gaddafi in 2011.
