A terrible accident has taken place in Libya. A boat carrying African migrants capsized accidentally. A UN migration official said 57 people were believed to have been killed in the incident.
Safa Msehli, a spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration, said the boat had left the west coast town of Khums on Sunday. She said there were at least 75 migrants on board, including women and children. Among the 57 assumed drowned were 20 women and two children.
Eighteen of the migrants were rescued and returned to shore by fishermen and Libya’s coast guard. The dead included people from Nigeria, Ghana and the Gambia. The reports reveal that the vessel had stopped because of an engine problem, then capsized amid adverse weather conditions.
Immigrants and refugees are migrating by boat across the Mediterranean Sea seeking a better life in Europe. Meanwhile, while 500 more people were trying to evacuate, authorities intercepted and evacuated them to Libya. The North African country has emerged as the dominant transportation point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.