MOSCOW, September 15 (RIA Novosti) - A boat carrying approximately 250 illegal African migrants has sunk off the coast of Libya, the Wall Street Journal reports.
According to Ayoub Qassem, a Libyan navy spokesman, a coast guard team has managed to rescue only 26 people so far, adding that many of the bodies are still floating in the sea. According to preliminary data, many of boat’s passengers were women. The total number of victims is currently unknown.
Incidents like this happen in the Mediterranean Sea regularly. In May, a boat with hundreds of migrants on board sank on its way from Libya to southern Italy. In August, a vessel carrying 170 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa sank off the coast of Libya.
After Muammar Gaddafi’s death, Libya has served as a departure point for many illegal African migrants trying to enter the European Union in search for better life. As Reuters reports, approximately 2,000 people have drowned this year while trying to make the boat trip from Libya to Europe.
