A baby was among the bodies washed up on beaches in Libya
following the latest disasters, which push the record death toll above
1,300 so far in 2017.
The country’s coastguard picked up seven migrants who said
they had been on an overloaded dinghy packed with 170 people, which sank
on Sunday.
Omar Koko, a coastguard commander in the western city of
Zawiya, said more than 30 women and nine children were among those
feared drowned.
At least 11 bodies washed up on nearby beaches and were recovered by the Red Crescent.
Spokesperson Mohanad Krima said: “All the bodies are of female victims and there is a girl of less than one year old.”
Survivors of a second shipwreck where rescued by the Italian
coastguard, telling authorities their boat started deflating under the
weight of 120 people.
Based on its interviews with survivors in Sicily, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimated the number of dead at more than 80.
Migrant arrivals to Italy by sea are up about 30 per cent
this year on 2016, when a record 181,000 people were rescued and taken
ashore.
”The increasing numbers of passengers on board vessels used
by traffickers, with an average of 100 to 150 people, are alarming and
the main cause of shipwrecks,“ said the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees Filippo Grandi.
”Risks are increased by the worsening quality of vessels and the increasing use of rubber boats instead of wooden ones.”
No comments:
Post a Comment