Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Many Venezuelans have fled the crisis-hit country to the island of Curaçao (file photo)

Thirty-two Venezuelan migrants are missing after the boat they were travelling on sank on its way to the island of Curaçao, a politician said.

The group left a village in the north-western Falcón state on a speedboat on Friday. Relatives said they had not heard from the group since.

It was the third Venezuelan migrant boat to capsize in recent weeks.

Some four million people have fled Venezuela since 2015, according to the United Nations.

A severe years-long economic crisis has resulted in high unemployment and shortages of food and medicine, and hundreds of thousands of people are said to be in need of humanitarian aid in the oil-rich country.

"No-one has been in touch with their families, which makes us fear the worst," said opposition politician Luis Stefanelli, who accused the government of "criminal negligence" for not deploying teams to search for the missing.

Venezuelan authorities have not yet commented.

The Dutch island of Curaçao is about 40 miles (64km) off the Venezuelan coast. Mr Stefanelli said each person had paid $400 (£313) for the crossing in a country where the monthly minimum wage is around $6.70.

Two other boats carrying migrants sank on separate journeys to Trinidad and Tobago in April and May, leaving more than 50 missing in total.

Last week, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the exodus from the country meant that Venezuelans were now "one of the single largest population groups displaced from their country".

Latin American countries host the vast majority of Venezuelan migrants and refugees. Colombia has the most at 1.3 million, followed by Peru with 768,000, according to UN figures.

But countries in Central America and the Caribbean also host significant numbers of Venezuelans.

The government of President Nicolás Maduro says the shortages are a result of a US-led "economic war". The opposition argues that they are the result of mismanagement and corruption by socialist governments.

The crisis deepened in January after Juan Guaidó, the head of the National Assembly, declared himself interim president, arguing that Mr Maduro's re-election last year had been "illegitimate".

He has since been recognised by more than 50 countries, including the US and most of Latin America. But Mr Maduro retains the loyalty of most of the military and important allies such as China and Russia.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption What are the real reasons behind Venezuela’s blackouts?

In April, Mr Guaidó led a failed attempt to spark a military rebellion against Mr Maduro, who described the effort as part of a US-orchestrated coup. Since then, close allies of Mr Guaidó have been arrested. While his parliamentary immunity has been lifted, he has so far not been jailed. </s> At least 30 Venezuelan migrants are missing after the speedboat they were traveling in sank on its way to Curacao, an opposition lawmaker said on Tuesday.

The vessel left from a village in the northwest on Friday with 30 to 35 people on board, deputy Luis Stefanelli told AFP, quoting family members.

“No one has been in touch with their families, which makes us fear the worst,” said Stefanelli.

Authorities have not commented on the report.

The body of a man wearing a life jacket was found near Bullenbaai bay in Curacao, according to a coast guard statement published by media on the Caribbean island.

However, it was not clear if he had been aboard the speedboat that left clandestinely from the Venezuelan village of Aguide in Falcon state.

It's the third such boat carrying Venezuelan migrants to capsize in the last month, with a total of 80 people now missing.

The previous two boats were heading for Trinidad and Tobago.

Another opposition lawmaker, Robert Alcala said on May 19 that 29 people had gone missing when their boat sank in open water on its journey to Trinidad and Tobago from northwestern Venezuela.

It was Alcala as well who reported on April 25 that a boat carrying 33 migrants taking the same route disappeared, although nine people were rescued that time.

“These are desperate people who sell all their belongings and leave with nothing,” Stefanelli told AFP.

He said that according to the families, the migrants had paid $400 each for the crossing -- in a country where the minimum wage is now around $6.50 a month because of hyperinflation.

Venezuela is suffering from an economic crisis and has been in recession for five years, with its people suffering from shortages of basic necessities such as food and medicines.

The United Nations says a quarter of its 30 million population are in need of humanitarian aid.

Last week, the UN said more than 3.3 million people have fled the country in the last three and a half years.

Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, a close ally of President Nicolas Maduro, has accused the UN of “inflating figures.” </s> JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The death toll in the sinking of an overcrowded boat carrying Indonesian migrant workers climbed to 51 on Friday after rescuers found more bodies.

Police and rescue agency officials said by late Friday morning a further 33 bodies had been recovered from the sea off the Indonesian island of Batam.

There were 101 people on the speedboat carrying migrant workers and their families that capsized in stormy weather early Wednesday morning, and 39 of the passengers were rescued. Two of its three crew also survived and were later arrested. Nine people are still missing.

“This search is not easy,” said Abdul Hamid, head of the local search and rescue agency. “Strong winds and currents were hampering our efforts and the sea was murky, making it difficult for rescuers to look below the surface.”

The boat was carrying Indonesian workers home from Malaysia. Police suspect the trip was illegal and the workers were undocumented because of the high fares that passengers said they paid.

The boat was about 7.5 kilometers (4.5 miles) from land when it sank.

Speedboats and ferries are a common form of transport in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago. Sinkings are common due to poorly enforced safety regulations.

One of the worst ferry sinkings in recent years occurred off Sulawesi island in 2009, killing more than 330 people. </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> At least 97 Libyan migrants are feared dead after their boat sank Thursday in the Mediterranean Sea, en route to Europe, Libyan authorities said.

A spokesman for the Libyan Coast Guard said authorities rescued 23 migrants a few kilometers off the Libyan coast after receiving a distress call from their sinking boat.

By the time the Coast Guard arrived, spokesman Ayoub Gassim said the boat, which was packed with African migrants, "completely collapsed."

He said the survivors were all men who were found hanging onto a flotation device. The others were "probably dead," he said.

Libya serves as a popular starting point for migrants, mostly from countries in sub-Saharan Africa, to try to reach Europe. Smugglers use dilapidated boats to take thousands of migrants on the long, dangerous journey across the Mediterranean.

Mass drownings like the one feared to have happened Thursday are becoming more common as traffickers pack as many migrants as possible onto rickety boats.

The International Organization for Migration reports that as of April 9, some 664 migrants have died on the Mediterranean, with 90 percent on the Libya-to-Italy route. </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> 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. </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> Migrants are seen aboard of Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) rescue vessel Phoenix during a rescue operations in the international waters between Malta and Libya on August 10,2016. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

ROME (Reuters) - About 6,055 migrants were rescued and 22 found dead on the perilous sea route to Europe on Monday, one of the highest numbers in a single day, Italian and Libyan officials said.

Italy's coastguard said at least nine migrants had died and a pregnant woman and a child had been taken by helicopter to a hospital on the Italian island of Lampedusa, halfway between Sicily and the Libyan coast.

Libyan officials said 11 migrant bodies had washed up on a beach east of the capital, Tripoli, and another two migrants had died when a boat sank off the western city of Sabratha.

One Italian coast guard ship rescued about 725 migrants on a single rubber boat, one of some 20 rescue operations during the day.

About 10 ships from the coast guard, the navy and humanitarian organisations were involved in the rescues, most of which took place some 30 miles off the coast of Libya.

Libyan naval and coastguard patrols intercepted three separate boats carrying more than 450 migrants, officials said.

Monday was the third anniversary of the sinking of a migrant boat off the Italian island of Lampedusa in which 386 people died.

According to the International Organisation for Migration, around 132,000 migrants have arrived in Italy since the start of the year and 3,054 have died.

Most depart from Libya, where political chaos and a security vacuum have allowed people smugglers to act with impunity.
A speedboat carrying migrants reportedly sinks off the coast of Venezuela en route to Curaçao, making it the third migrant boat leaving Venezuela to sink in as many months, with over 50 people missing.