At least 40 migrants found dead in boat near Libya
- 9 years ago
Reports suggest at least 40 migrants have been found dead in the hold of a boat crossing the Mediterranean.
The vessel, said to be carrying around 400 people, was intercepted some 34 kilometres off the coast of Libya.
The Italian navy confirmed the deaths, but has yet to release further details. It is leading a rescue operation, which is believed to have saved many of those on board.
Italian news agency ANSA reports the fatalities were probably due to suffocation.
The news came a day after the release of a report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), putting migrant deaths at sea this year at record levels.
Mediterranean migrant arrivals approach 250,000 in 2015. Read the latest: http://t.co/5dnS8KjmfE #MissingMigrants pic.twitter.com/8Wqk0PICQB— IOM (@IOM_news) August 14, 2015
Total fatalities calculated by the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project now stand at over 2,300.
The vessel, said to be carrying around 400 people, was intercepted some 34 kilometres off the coast of Libya.
The Italian navy confirmed the deaths, but has yet to release further details. It is leading a rescue operation, which is believed to have saved many of those on board.
Italian news agency ANSA reports the fatalities were probably due to suffocation.
The news came a day after the release of a report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), putting migrant deaths at sea this year at record levels.
Mediterranean migrant arrivals approach 250,000 in 2015. Read the latest: http://t.co/5dnS8KjmfE #MissingMigrants pic.twitter.com/8Wqk0PICQB— IOM (@IOM_news) August 14, 2015
Total fatalities calculated by the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project now stand at over 2,300.