Business Standard

84 migrants still missing after boat sinks off Libya

An Italian cargo ship rescued 26 migrants from a flimsy boat that was sinking off the coast in mediterranean

Migrants, Turkey, Refugee, Greek island

Migrants and refugees disembark from a vessel after their arrival from the Turkish coast to the northeastern Greek island of Lesbos. Photo: AP/PTI

IANS Rome

Around 84 migrants were reported as missing in the Mediterranean Sea on Saturday by Italian rescuers, local media said.

The Italian coastal guard reportedly asked a merchant vessel to reach a migrant boat in trouble in Libyan waters after receiving a silent call from a satellite phone, Xinhua reported.

Rescuers managed to save 26 migrants but said there could be around 70 missing at sea, as that kind of boat generally carries not less than 100 migrants to Italy, Rai state television reported.

A total of 454 migrants have been saved from the sea in four operations coordinated by the Italian coastal guard in the past two days, raising the number of those rescued in the past week to around 2,000.

 

The dead bodies of two migrants were recovered during one of the operations, Rai added.

Italy was facing growing flows of migrants from African and Middle Eastern countries across the Mediterranean sea.

There have been over 182,830 arrivals by sea in Europe since January 2016, and 1,261 migrants were reported dead or missing, UNHCR said.

Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel

First Published: Apr 30 2016 | 5:24 PM IST

Explore News