GENEVA (AA): A boat estimated to be carrying up to 600 migrants capsized off Libya coast on Wednesday, with nearly 400 of them rescued and 25 bodies recovered so far, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said.
“We received information from Italian Coast Guard that saying that they received distress call from a ship located 15 miles of Libyan coast this morning,” IOM spokesman Itayi Viriri told Anadolu Agency.
The boat “could have been carrying up to 600 migrants. So far, we understand 400 of them have been rescued and 25 bodies were found. But, we are not certain that how many more are going to be rescued,” Viriri said, adding that rescue efforts continue.
Viriri said the migrants departed from Libya, but there is no official confirmation on their nationalities.
More than 2,000 migrants have died and nearly 188,000 have been rescued so far in 2015 while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to reach Europe, according to the IOM.
A total of 3,279 migrants lost their lives while trying to cross the Mediterranean in 2014.
[Photo: Earlier last month, migrants, who wanted to go to Europe, are seen on a boat after being caught by the Coast Guard Forces 18 miles away the Libya coast on June 6, 2015. Photographer: Hazem Turkia/Anadolu Agency]
