Shipwreck off Libya claims migrant lives

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At least 40 people are feared dead or missing after a shipwreck of a boat carrying migrants off Libya, while about 60 people may have been rescued, the UN refugee agency said.

“Terrible news coming in of potentially large loss of life in a shipwreck off Libya,” UNHCR spokesman Charlie Yaxley said in a tweet, adding details were sketchy.

“Around 60 people have been rescued and returned to shore. At least 40 people estimated to be dead or missing.”

Libyan coastguard spokesman Ayoub Qassem said the bodies of five migrants were recovered and 65 migrants were rescued off the coast of Khoms.

Three of the dead were from Morocco, one from Sudan and one from Somalia, Qassem said. UNHCR said most survivors were from Sudan, with others from Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.

Unseaworthy vessels overloaded with migrants trying to reach Italy regularly capsize off Libya. Last week more than 100 people died and a boat with about 250 capsized last month.

Thousands of people die every year in the central Mediterranean, among hundreds of thousands attempting the crossing from North Africa to Europe.

The number making the voyage declined sharply from mid-2017 after European-backed efforts disrupted smuggling networks in Libya.

As of last week, 5,400 migrants were intercepted or rescued at sea by the Libyan coastguard so far this year, UNHCR reported.

According to Italy’s interior ministry, 4,862 migrants landed on Italian shores since January 1.