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Boat tragedy in Mediterranean Sea; Nearly 100 people dead

 

Geneva: After setting off from Libya in an overcrowded boat, around100 people have died in international waters, international organisations informed. A commercial tanker- Alegria 1, has rescued four people from a life raft in the Mediterranean early Saturday morning, the Doctors Without Borders charity said.

‘We know from our initial contact with Alegria 1 that the survivors reported being at sea for at least four days on a boat with nearly 100 people on board’, the charity, which goes by its French acronym MSF, said in a tweet. According to a transcript of the logbook of exchanges with the tanker, the tanker said that ‘around 96 people died in the water’, AFP reported. The UN refugee chief reacted to the news Sunday and tweeted that ‘more than 90 people have died in another Mediterranean tragedy’.

Meanwhile, MSF stressed that those rescued on Saturday ‘are in need of urgent protection and care. ‘None of the survivors should be returned to a place where they face detention, abuse and ill-treatment. Libya is not a place of safety’, it added. Libya, wracked by a decade of conflict and lawlessness, has become a key departure point for African and Asian migrants making desperate attempts to reach Europe. Migrants often endure horrific conditions in Libya before embarking northwards on overcrowded, often unseaworthy vessels that frequently sink or get into trouble.

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Around 300 migrants died or were presumed dead along the Central Mediterranean route between January 1 and March 28, according to International Organisation for Migration. Around 3,100 migrants were intercepted and taken back to Libya. Once back in Libya, the migrants are typically taken to government-run detention centres rife with abuse and ill-treatment.

 

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