Five bodies recovered, 191 migrants rescued by Libyan coastguard

Rescued immigrants are seen at a naval base in Tripoli, Libya. Picture: Hamza Turkia/Xinhua

Rescued immigrants are seen at a naval base in Tripoli, Libya. Picture: Hamza Turkia/Xinhua

Published Jun 19, 2018

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Tripoli - Libya's coastguards said that they had rescued 191 migrants and recovered the bodies of five others off the coast to the west of the capital Tripoli.

In one incident, 115 people, including 22 women and two children, were picked up and five bodies were recovered after their migrant boat was damaged due to high waves off the coast of Mellitah, 100 kilometres west of Tripoli, Ayoub Qasim, spokesman for the Libyan navy forces, said in a statement late on Monday.

Among the migrants were four Pakistanis, an Egyptian and a Sudanese, the spokesman said.

The five dead were three men and two women, and they were brought back to Tripoli along with the survivors, he added.

Bodies of drowned immigrants are seen at a naval base in Tripoli. Picture: Hamza Turkia/Xinhua

In another incident, the coastguard rescued 76 people off the coast of Zawiya, 45 kilometres to the west of Tripoli, according to the media office of the Libyan navy.

Bodies of drowned immigrants are seen at a naval base in Tripoli, Libya. Picture: Hamza Turkia/Xinhua

Libya has become a major transit route for migrants trying to reach Europe by sea. It descended into chaos since the overthrow of long-time autocrat Moamer Gaddafi in a 2011 armed revolt.

Following a cooperation agreement reached between the Libyan coastguard and the European Union last year, the number of migrants arriving in Italy via the Mediterranean has fallen sharply.

dpa

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