At least 82 people are missing after an inflatable boat carrying migrants capsized off Tunisia's Mediterranean coast earlier in the week, the United Nations-affiliated International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a press release on Friday

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th July, 2019) At least 82 people are missing after an inflatable boat carrying migrants capsized off Tunisia 's Mediterranean coast earlier in the week, the United Nations-affiliated International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a press release on Friday.

On Thursday, media reported that more than 80 people were unaccounted for after a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea three days earlier.

"IOM has learned that of the 82 still missing, four are women, one of them pregnant," the release said.

On Monday, the vessel left Zwara, Libya, and capsized a few hours later after it began to leak. Four survivors were spotted by fishermen and were then rescued by the Tunisian Coast Guard.

One survivor, a citizen of Cote d'Ivoire, later died in a hospital on Thursday, the release said. The other survivors are hospitalized and one was placed in a shelter run by the Tunisian Red Crescent. All of the survivors are believed to be citizens of Mali, the release added.

The IOM said in the release that it was able to meet with the survivors and assist them with basic needs and psychological support.

According to the IOM, 426 migrants have drowned while attempting to cross the so-called central Mediterranean route. Some 3,750 have been brought back to Libya amid the ongoing violence in and around the capital of Tripoli. </s> Four men were pulled from sinking vessel with one later dying in hospital, says official

This article is more than 2 months old

This article is more than 2 months old

More than 80 people trying to reach Europe from Libya are feared dead after their boat capsized off the coast of Tunisia, according to the UN migration agency.

The boat sank on Wednesday off the port town of Zarzis and 82 of the migrants who had been onboard were missing, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. Fishermen pulled four men from the sinking boat, said Lorena Lando, the agency’s head in Tunisia. One of the four died later in hospital.

A government source said the survivors, who were rescued nine miles (14.5km) off Zarzis, informed coastguards they had set out from Libya and that dozens had drowned.

Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesman for the IOM, tweeted: “More updates are needed in order to confirm what happened and the actual number of missing.”

At least 65 people heading for Europe from Libya drowned last May when their boat capsized off Tunisia.

Libya’s western coast is a main departure point for African migrants hoping to reach Europe with the help of human traffickers, though numbers have dropped because of an Italian-led effort to disrupt smuggling networks and support the Libyan coastguard.

Although fighting in Libya has made the situation more difficult for those involved in people-trafficking rackets, international aid officials have warned it could also prompt Libyans to flee the country.

On Wednesday, an airstrike on a Libyan migrant detention centre killed at least 53 people. It was reported that guards shot at detainees trying to flee the attack. The UN and aid groups blamed the airstrike deaths in part on the EU’s policy of partnering with Libyan militias to prevent people from trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe. </s> More than 80 people missing after boat sinks off Tunisian coast

More than 80 people missing after boat sinks off Tunisian coast

The boat capsized off the Tunisian coast. File pic

Eighty-two people are missing after the boat they were in sank off the coast of Tunisia.

Tunisian fishermen came across the sinking boat near the town of Zarzis late on Wednesday.

They were able to pull out four men but there was no trace of any of the other passengers, according to Lorena Lando, head of the International Organization for Migration in Tunisia.

Those on board are thought to have been migrants.

One of those rescued, a man from the Ivory Coast, died overnight in hospital.

In May, at least 65 migrants drowned after their boat capsized while heading from Libya to Europe. </s> Up to 70 migrants drown after their boat sinks off Tunisia

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — As many as 70 migrants trying to reach Europe from Libya drowned Friday when their boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, and at least 16 others on the boat were rescued, according to U.N. migration officials and Tunisia's state news agency.

The International Organization for Migration called it the deadliest migrant boat sinking since January, and it comes as overall migrant arrivals to Europe are decreasing.

The smuggling boat was coming from Libya when it sent a distress signal in international waters early Friday off the Tunisian coastal city of Sfax, according to an IOM official in Tunisia. She said between 60 and 70 people drowned.

Tunisia's state news agency TAP said 70 people drowned as the boat sank and that fishing boats rescued 16 others.

The survivors of the sinking are now being questioned and cared for by Tunisian authorities, the IOM official said. She said they included people from Bangladesh and Morocco, among other nationalities.

Joel Millman, an IOM spokesman in Geneva, said the reported death toll is the largest number of migrants killed since a Jan. 19 sinking in which 117 people were reported missing and presumed dead.

So far this year, 17,000 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea, about 30 percent fewer than the 24,000 arriving during the same period last year, according to the IOM. It said 443 people have reportedly died on dangerous Mediterranean Sea crossings so far this year, compared to 620 deaths for the same period in 2018.

Libya's navy said Friday it rescued 213 Europe-bound African and Arab migrants off the Mediterranean coast this week. It said they were handed over to Libyan police after having received humanitarian and medical aid.

Lawless Libya in North Africa became a major conduit for African migrants and refugees fleeing to Europe after an uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Libyan authorities have stepped up efforts to stem the flow of migrants, with European assistance.

But human rights groups have strongly criticized Libya for its detention centers, saying migrants being sent back to Libya faced hunger, beatings, torture, rapes and a lack of medical care.

In addition, the head of the self-styled Libyan National Army launched an offensive against the government in the Libyan capital of Tripoli last month. The U.N. health agency says 443 people have died, 2,110 have been wounded and nearly 60,000 have been displaced by the violence.

Angela Charlton in Paris and David Rising in Berlin contributed. </s> More than 80 people missing after boat sinks off Tunisian coast

More than 80 people missing after boat sinks off Tunisian coast

The boat capsized off the Tunisian coast. File pic

A boat carrying 86 migrants has sank in the Mediterranean - and 82 people have been reported missing.

Fishermen came across the sinking boat, nine miles from the town of Zarzis off the coast of Tunisia, late on Wednesday.

They were able to pull four men from the vessel but there was no trace of the other passengers, according to Lorena Lando, head of the International Organisation for Migration in Tunisia.

One of those rescued, a man from the Ivory Coast, died overnight in hospital.

Those on board are thought to have been migrants who had departed from the Libyan city of Zuwara.

In May, at least 65 migrants drowned after their boat capsized while heading from Libya to Europe.

African migrants often depart from the west coast of Libya and head to Europe in search of a better life.

But many rely on human traffickers, and end up travelling in unsafe boats.

Aid workers have warned that the recent fighting in Libya could prompt more Libyans to flee their country.

However, an operation run by the Italians and the Libyan coast guard has seen a recent drop in the number of people sailing for Europe. </s> Tunis: The U.N. migration agency says a boat carrying 86 migrants from Libya sank in the Mediterranean overnight, and just three people on board survived, with 82 reportedly missing.

The shipwreck late Wednesday off the Tunisian city of Zarzis came a day after a deadly airstrike on a Libyan detention center that killed at least 44 migrants.

The Red Crescent and the navy told AFP that three Malians and an Ivorian were rescued off Zarzis in southern Tunisia on Wednesday by the coast guard who had been alerted by local fishermen.

The Ivorian, however, died in hospital and one of the Malians has also been hospitalised in intensive care.

Those rescued had told Tunisian officials that 86 people were on board their inflatable boat when it left from the Libyan town of Zuwara, west of Tripoli, on its way to cross the Mediterranean to Italy.

"About 80 migrants are feared dead. More updates are needed in order to confirm what happened and the actual number of missing," Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesman for the International Organisation for Migration, tweeted.

Earlier this week, another boat from Libya made it to the Tunisian port of Sfax with 65 people on board.

The perilous route, frequently used by migrant boats, has taken hundreds of lives by now. Just in May, at least 50 people were killed after a migrant boat capsized off the coast of Tunisia, according to the International Organization for Migration. </s> At least 80 Venezuelans have lost their lives or went missing after three boats capsized in the Caribbean Sea during the months of April and May, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a press release on Tuesday

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th June, 2019) At least 80 Venezuelans have lost their lives or went missing after three boats capsized in the Caribbean Sea during the months of April and May , the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a press release on Tuesday.

"More than 80 Venezuelans have died or disappeared in the Caribbean Sea the past two months in three shipwrecks reported by NTN24 and other media outlets and confirmed by the Venezuelan authorities," the release said.

The IOM said in the release that an estimated 51 to 67 Venezuelans disappeared on April 23 and May 16 after two boats heading toward Trinidad and Tobago capsized.

In addition, at least 21 Venezuelans went missing after a third boat heading to Curacao disappeared on June 8, the IOM added.

The IOM explained that relatives of the missing testified the trips had been organized by smugglers who utilize boats that surpass their transport capacity and are likely to capsize.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said earlier in the month that some four million Venezuelans have left the country.

Of the nearly four million citizens who have left Venezuela as a result of the political and economic crisis in the country, some 110,000 of them reside in the Caribbean region, according to the IOM. </s> More than 130 migrants went missing on Tuesday morning off the coast of Djibouti after two boats capsized, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said.The tragedy occurred off Godoria, a locality in the Obock region of northeast Djibouti.

After being alerted by local residents, a team of gendarmerie mobilized on Tuesday afternoon near the reported site of the sinkings and discovered two survivors and the bodies of three women and two men.

The coast guard was also alerted and launched search and rescue operations.

According to local witnesses the boats capsized roughly 30 minutes after leaving due to overloading and heavy tide.

An IOM team is assisting local officials in the search for survivors.

IOM staff have discovered an 18-year old male survivor, who reportedly boarded the first boat with 130 people on board.

Included in that group were 16 women. This survivor said he did not have information about the second boat.

The five recovered bodies are being transported by the Ministry of Health to a hospital in Obock for examination.

IOM manages a Migrant Response Centre (MCR) in Obock, where over 500 migrants are being assisted ahead of repatriation to their countries of origin under the voluntary return programme. </s> July 4 (UPI) -- More than 80 people are missing after a boat carrying migrants sunk off the coast of Tunisia late Wednesday.

Three Malians were rescued and a fourth migrant died later in a hospital. The inflatable boat, which capsized near the town of Zarzis, set out from Zuwara, Libya, where migrants often embark on dangerous journeys in hope of reaching Europe. More than 80 people are feared dead.

Fishermen who came across the sinking boat were unable to find more than four people.

The sinking came after an airstrike on a migrant center in Tripoli, Libya, killed at least 40 people. The Government of National Accord blamed the Libyan National Army for the attack as conflict with the United Nations-backed Libyan transition government continues. The country has seen persistent internal conflict, leading to the death of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

A group of 131 refugees were evacuated out of Libya to Niger in June, the UN Refugee Agency said. In May, 65 migrants died when a boat sank off the coast of Tunisia.

A record number of people worldwide, 41.3 million, were displaced from their home countries because of conflict and violence as of the end of 2018, according to a report from the Norwegian Refugee Council.

In the first six months of this year, 555 migrants died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea, following 924 deaths in 2018, according to the International Organization for Migration.
More than 80 people are missing after a migrant boat capsizes off the coast of Tunisia, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).