At least 57 migrants die off Libya coast: UN
At least 57 people drowned on Monday after a boat capsized off the Libyan coast near Khums, the latest tragedy in the Mediterranean where nearly 1,000 have perished this year, the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
Bodies have not been recovered from the shipwreck, but survivors included migrants from Nigeria, Ghana and Gambia, IOM spokeswoman Safa Msehli told Reuters.
"According to survivors brought to shore by fishermen and the coast guard, at least 20 women and two children were among those who drowned," she said.
The migrants, the majority from West Africa, departed from Khums, presumably to reach Europe, Msehli said.
The deaths of 57 migrants brings the number of lives lost on the central Mediterranean crossing route this year to around 970, the United Nations said yesterday.
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