16 missing as boat capsizes off Libya, 22 including Bangladeshi rescued

Three

22 people including Bangladeshi migrant hopefuls, have been rescued after a boat carrying migrants capsized off Libya’s coast. Three died in the incident.

At least 16 remain missing.

International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the boat capsized in the Mediterranean on Thursday night.

Qatar based news media Al Jazeera reported that the dead include two citizens of Syria and one of Ghana.

IOM spokesperson Safa Msehli said the 22 survivors include citizens of Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, Niger, Somalia, Syria and Ghana.

The survivors were rescued in cooperation with Libyan coastguards and later transferred to a detention center in Libya.

The coastguard feared the death toll may rise.

This is the second incident of boat capsize in Libya within one month.

On 15 September, IOM reported 20 people died after their boat capsized off Libya’s coast.

Amnesty International on 24 September urged European Union to work with Libyan authorities on allegations of ‘horrific abuses against refugees and migrants’.

North African country Libya has become a common route for human trafficking after its former leader Muammar Gaddafi’s fall in 2011. Refugees and illegal immigration seekers risk their lives trying to reach Europe through Libya.

According to IOM, at least 1,200 people have died while more than 100,000 have tried to reach Europe crossing Mediterranean sea.