OAN’s Abril Elfi
12:44 PM – Sunday, December 17, 2023
At least 61 people have drowned in a shipwreck off the coast of Libya.
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The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IMO) announced the deaths of at least 61 people, including women and children.
According to the IOM’s Libya office, the boat carrying about 86 people left the coastal city of Zuwara, which is west of the capital Tripoli and 37 miles from the Tunisian border.
They also stated that “the central Mediterranean continues to be one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes.”
The partially deflated rubber boat was found by the European Union’s border agency’s aircraft on Thursday night in Libya’s search and rescue zone, the agency said in a statement on Sunday.
“The people were in severe danger because of adverse weather conditions, with waves reaching heights of 2.5 meters (8.2 feet),” the agency said.
Lately, Libya has become the primary hub for migrants escaping conflict and destitution throughout Africa and the Middle East.
According to the most recent statistics provided by the UN refugee agency UNHCRore, more than 2,500 people have died or disappeared in the Central Mediterranean alone this year, and “numbers in other parts of the world are likely to be very high.”
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