4 irregular migrants die as 2 boats carrying dozens capsize off Libya’s coast

ISTANBUL

Four migrants died after two boats carrying nearly 100 people capsized off the coast of Al-Khums in northwestern Libya, the Libyan Red Crescent said Saturday evening.

The organization said it received a report late Thursday about two overturned migrant boats near the Al-Khums shoreline. The first vessel was carrying 26 migrants from Bangladesh, four of whom were found dead.

The second boat was carrying 69 people, including two Egyptians and 67 Sudanese nationals, among them eight children, the Red Crescent said.

Emergency and recovery teams were deployed to the site to rescue survivors, retrieve the victims’ bodies, and provide care, it added.

Libya is viewed as a departure point for irregular migrants attempting to reach Europe via illegal routes across the Mediterranean.

Authorities continue to face mounting migration challenges, with EU countries along the Mediterranean expressing concern over irregular migrant flows to their shores.

The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Wednesday that the number of migrants who have died while attempting to cross the Central Mediterranean this year has already surpassed 1,000.