Two Migrant Boats Capsize off Libyan Coast: At Least Four Dead

At least four people died when two boats carrying migrants to Europe capsized off the coast of Libya in North Africa.

Immigrants struggling in the water cling to floating debris until rescued by lifeguards in the Mediterranean Sea. The photo is unrelated to the article. Photo by AP Yonhap News.

According to Al Jazeera and other outlets on November 16 (local time), the Libyan Red Crescent announced that two migrant boats overturned on November 14 in waters near the coastal city of Khoms, about 118 kilometers east of the capital Tripoli.

Four people died from the first boat, which was carrying 26 migrants from Bangladesh. The second boat was carrying 69 people, including Egyptians and Sudanese, but the Red Crescent reportedly did not disclose the fate of those on board.

Since the collapse of the Muammar Gaddafi regime in 2011, there has been a steady stream of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and other regions attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe by boat, resulting in frequent capsizing accidents.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated that on November 12, a migrant boat sank off the coast near the Al-Bouri oil field in northwestern Libya, with at least 42 people missing and all presumed dead. In mid-October, the bodies of 61 migrants were recovered from the western coast of Tripoli, and in September, a fire broke out on a boat carrying 75 Sudanese refugees off the Libyan coast, killing at least 50 people.

According to the IOM, more than 1,500 people have died or gone missing in boat accidents on the central Mediterranean route so far this year, with about one-third of these incidents occurring off the coast of Libya. Last year, the number of migrants heading to Europe who died in the Mediterranean reached approximately 2,500.