'Endless Refugee Tragedy'... At Least 73 Missing in Libya Maritime Shipwreck Accident

Boat Carrying 80 Migrants Sinks, 7 Rescued

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] It has been confirmed that migrants on board a ship near Libya in the Mediterranean Sea off North Africa died or went missing due to a shipwreck.

Refugees on a boat off the coast of Libya last year waiting for rescue.
[Photo by AP]

On the 15th (local time), the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) Libya office announced that at least 73 migrants are missing due to the accident.

According to IOM, the ship involved in the accident departed from Kasr Al-Khair, located east of Tripoli, Libya, carrying about 80 migrants heading to Europe, when the accident occurred. Seven people who swam to shore after the accident are currently being transported to hospitals and receiving treatment.

With this accident, the number of migrants who died in ship accidents in the Mediterranean Sea near North Africa this year has risen to about 130.

Migrants fleeing war and famine and heading to Europe mainly cross the Mediterranean Sea using small vessels. However, many migrants lose their lives at sea every year due to ship accidents.

A recent report analyzed by the international child rights NGO Save the Children, based on data from the United Nations Refugee Agency, stated that since 2019, about 500,000 migrants have attempted to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe, and among them, 8,468 have died or gone missing.

Save the Children analyzed that recent policies, mainly by European countries, forcibly intercepting refugee boats have contributed to the increase in deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.