International

16 bodies of drowned migrants wash up shore of western Libya

Published

7 years ago

October 31, 2016

16 bodies of drowned migrants wash up shore of western Libya

According to accounts by the Red Crescent, the bodies of 16 drowned migrants have washed up the western Libyan city of Zuwara.

Al-Khamis al-Bosaifi, the spokesman for Red Crescent said the bodies, which were recovered on Saturday, were all men who appeared to be from sub-Saharan Africa. “The bodies are decomposed and we have no idea when they drowned,” he said.

Libya is a common departure point for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. They travel in ill-equipped boats that often break down or sink.

Last week coastguards had rescued 29 migrants some 26 miles off the shore east of Tripoli, with survivors saying 126 people had been on the rubber boat before one of the sides was ripped and it started taking in water with the boat sinking minutes later.

It is believed that the 16 bodies that washed up the city shores of Zuwara were among the 126 people in the rubber boat that drowned last week in Tripoli.

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