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At least four individuals lost their lives after two boats carrying a total of 95 irregular migrants capsized off the coast of Al Khums, Libya, according to the Libyan Red Crescent. The first vessel, which had 26 Bangladeshis aboard, resulted in four fatalities. The second boat, carrying 69 migrants—including two Egyptians and numerous Sudanese—was also involved in the sinking, with their status remaining unknown.
Khums is a port city situated approximately 118 kilometers east of Tripoli. The International Organization for Migration reported that 42 migrants went missing and are presumed dead after a rubber boat went down near the Al Buri oil field, an offshore facility located to the north-northwest of Libya.
Libya has increasingly become a transit point for migrants fleeing unrest and economic hardship, seeking passage across the Mediterranean to Europe, especially since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-supported uprising. Images released by the Khums Red Crescent depict a line of bodies wrapped in black plastic bags laid out on the ground, with volunteers providing first aid to survivors. Other photos show migrants wrapped in thermal blankets sitting on the floor.
The rescue operation involved the Libyan Coast Guard and the Khums Port Security Agency. The bodies were handed over to legal authorities in accordance with directives from the local public prosecutor.
In October, authorities recovered the bodies of 61 migrants along the coastline west of Tripoli. Earlier in September, the IOM confirmed at least 50 people had died after a vessel with 75 Sudanese refugees caught fire off the Libyan coast. Several countries, including the UK, Spain, Norway, and Sierra Leone, last week urged Libya during a UN meeting in Geneva to shut detention centers where human rights groups report torture, abuse, and sometimes killings of migrants and refugees.
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