Mediterranean boat tragedy: A commercial tanker rescues four people from a lifeboat. (Representative)
Geneva:
International organizations said nearly 100 people have died in international waters after leaving Libya in an overcrowded boat.
A commercial tanker, Alegria 1, saved four lives in the Mediterranean Sea early Saturday, the Doctors Without Borders charity said.
“We know from our initial contact with Alegria 1 that survivors reported being at sea for at least four days on the boat, which had about 100 people on board,” said the charity, which goes by its French acronym MSF. , said in a tweet.
“About 96 people died in the water,” the tanker said, according to a transcript of logbooks exchanged with the tanker, seen by AFP.
The UN refugee chief reacted to the news on Sunday, tweeting: “Another Mediterranean tragedy has killed more than 90.”
“Europe has proven its ability to generously and effectively host 4 million refugees from Ukraine,” he said.
“It must now urgently consider how to apply it to other refugees and migrants who are in distress, knocking on its door.”
MSF meanwhile stressed that those rescued on Saturday “need immediate protection and care.”
It added, “No survivors should be returned to a place where they face detention, abuse and abuse. Libya is not a place of security.”
Libya, stricken by a decade of conflict and chaos, has become a major departure point for African and Asian migrants desperate to reach Europe.
Migrants often face dire conditions in Libya before heading north, on overcrowded, often seaworthy vessels that often sink or get into trouble.
The European Union has faced criticism for its close cooperation with the Libyan Coast Guard to cut the number of migrants arriving on European shores.
Upon their return, many face further horrific abuse in detention centres.
Before the latest tragedy, the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration had recorded 367 deaths in the Mediterranean so far this year, after recording 2,048 such deaths in 2021.
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