They deaths were reported by survivors mainly from Senegal, Mali, Chad and Ghana, who were rescued by local fishermen and later detained upon disembarkation.
Among those who lost their lives when the vessel’s engine exploded off the coast of Zwara, were five children. Hundreds of people have lost their lives trying to cross the sea from Libya to Europe this year, in an attempt to flee war and poverty.
Libya, which has been torn by civil conflict since 2011, when the NATO-backed uprising overthrown the longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi, has emerged as a major transit point for African and Arab migrants.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), and UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) have called for a review of states’ approach to the situation in the Mediterranean, stressing the need to strengthen the current search and rescue capacity.
They also stressed that the situation in the country enables smugglers, traffickers, and criminals to act with impunity “as they prey on vulnerable migrants and refugees.” To this end, IOM and UNHCR called on the authorities in Libya to take decisive action against smugglers and traffickers, by disrupting and ending smuggling rings led by criminal groups.
