Libya: seven migrants found dead off Syrte

January 14, 2019

Credits: AFP

Libyan coastguards announced on 14 January the discovery of seven migrants' bodies off Syrte, in the Eastern part of the country. This information, confirmed by the Libyan Red Crescent, raises up to 20 the number of migrants dead while trying to cross the Mediterranean since the beginning of January 2019.

Up to now, migrants' nationality remains unknown and the corpses are now being handed over to the competent authorities for legal procedures.

Last December, 15 migrants drowned following the capsizing of their boat off the coast of Misrata, about 250 km East of Tripoli.

In 2018, 2,240 migrants perished in the Mediterranean based on the figures published last December 31 by the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).