Libya has for years been a major transit route for migrants trying to reach southern Europe by sea
The United Nations says 90 people are feared to have drowned off the coast of Libya after a people smuggler’s boat capsized mostly from Asia.
While Pakistan’s Foreign Office said that the Pakistani embassy in Tripoli was actively following up on the boat sinking incident of the Libyan coast in which 11 Pakistani are feared dead.
The UN’s migration agency said about 90 people are feared drowned after a smugglers’ boat carrying mostly Pakistani migrants capsized off Libya’s coast.
According to UN, just three people have survived the boat accident, in the latest migrant tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea.
According to the news agency, 10 bodies are reported to have washed up on Libyan shores, including two Libyan nationals and eight Pakistanis.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry has confirmed that up to 11 citizens from the country are among migrants who drowned after a boat capsized off Libya’s coast.
However, Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said diplomats had reached Libya’s coastal area to collect more details and Pakistani authorities will try to bring back the bodies of Pakistanis killed in the tragedy.
The UN agency has repeatedly issued warnings over the extreme dangers facing migrants who try to reach Europe via the so-called central Mediterranean route, which connects Libya to Italy.
According to UN report, Pakistanis were increasingly trying to make the perilous crossing to Italy and they were 13th on a list of the number of migrants trying to reach Europe last year by nationality, so far this year they are third.
The agency has repeatedly issued warnings over the extreme dangers facing migrants who try to reach Europe via the so-called central Mediterranean route, which connects Libya to Italy.
Overall this year, the IOM reports that there have been 6,624 arrivals by sea to Europe, compared to 5,983 in the same period of 2017 and So far in 2018, 246 migrants are believed to be dead or missing.