Muktadesh Desk: At least four people have died after two boats carrying migrants and asylum seekers sank off the coast of Libya. The Libyan Red Crescent said in a statement on Saturday that the accident occurred on Thursday night near the coastal town of Al-Khums. There were 26 Bangladeshis on one boat, of whom four died. Al Jazeera reported.
The Red Crescent also said that the second boat was carrying 69 passengers. Two of them were Egyptians and the rest were Sudanese. Eight of them were children. However, details about them were not provided.
Al-Khums is a coastal town located about 118 kilometers east of the capital Tripoli.
Libya has become a transit route for migrants and asylum seekers to Europe since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi during the NATO-backed uprising in 2011.
The statement added that the coast guard and the Al-Khums Port Security Agency participated in the rescue operation. The bodies were handed over to the relevant authorities on the orders of the city’s public prosecution.
Earlier on Wednesday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said at least 42 migrants were missing after a rubber boat sank off the coast of Libya. None of them are feared to be alive.