Six bodies were recovered from the 35 migrants who disappeared due to the capsizing of a small wooden boat off the Libyan coast, the World Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Saturday.
“The continuing loss of life in the Mediterranean should not be normalized. Human lives are the cost of inaction. A committed search and rescue capability and safe disembarkation mechanism are urgently needed to prevent further death and suffering.
This week alone there have been 53 disappearances of people who they tried to emigrate to Europe through the Mediterranean Sea.
“More than half of the deaths this year have been recorded near the Libyan coast,” the IOM warned late last month.
Yesterday’s incident, of which the causes are unknown, occurred in the city of Sabratha, in the west of the African country, an important starting point for migrants carrying out this dangerous journey.
The UN and human rights groups have repeatedly warned of the risk of torture, abuse and trafficking of migrants in Libya, where human traffickers have profited from the political chaos.
