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16 feared dead as boat sinks off Libyan coast

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Covid-19: Libya reports 12 new cases, toll now 168



Three bodies were found, but 13 people are still missing after their boat sank off the Libyan coast, the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Friday.

“At least 13 lives are lost at sea and three bodies retrieved after a tragic shipwreck occurred off the coast of Libya last night,” IOM’s Libya office said.

Fishing vessels brought 22 survivors back to Libya, where IOM staff were providing them with medical assistance.

Libya has become a major transit route for migrants trying to reach Europe by boat, since chaos erupted after the 2011 revolt that toppled long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

So far this year, around 430 migrants have died at sea on the central Mediterranean route to southern Europe, according to the IOM.



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