Libya: Five dead and 16 missing after migrant boat capsizes

Five people trying to reach Europe have died and the fate of 16 others is unknown after a boat carrying irregular migrants capsized off the coast of Libya, authorities in the African country announced today.

According to an official’s statement to the French Agency (AFP), 27 people, all Egyptians, were on board the boat. In an operation carried out in the sea area, six of those on board the fatal boat were rescued, five bodies were recovered, while the fate of 16 people is unknown, according to the same source.

“The vessel was 35 kilometers from the coast, in a rocky and inaccessible area,” the official told AFP.

The chaos that followed the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime in 2011 made Libya one of the main routes for tens of thousands of migrants – from sub-Saharan Africa, Arab countries and south Asia – seeking to reach Europe.

Since the beginning of the year, 216 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean and another 724 are presumed dead (officially classified as “missing”), according to data from the International Organization for Migration.