A boat packed with approximately 60 migrants — among them women and children — capsized off the eastern Libyan coast on Tuesday, leaving at least 50 people dead or unaccounted for, according to authorities.
Eastern Libya’s Coast Guard reported that the vessel went down near Bardaa Island, not far from the coastal city of Tobruk. Ten survivors were able to swim to the island on their own. A search operation for additional survivors or victims remains ongoing, the Coast Guard said.
This disaster is the most recent in a troubling series of tragedies along Libya’s coastline. Just last month, another shipwreck in eastern Libya resulted in 51 migrants dead or missing.
Libya has become one of the primary launching points for migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea in hopes of reaching Europe and building a better life. The country descended into turmoil following a NATO-backed revolt in 2011 that overthrew and killed longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi, and it has since become a key transit hub for people fleeing violence and poverty across Africa and the Middle East.
Human smugglers routinely load migrants onto small, poorly equipped boats for the dangerous sea crossing, and thousands have lost their lives making the attempt.
According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 800 migrants were reported dead or missing along the central Mediterranean route between January 1 and May 16 of this year. In all of last year, that number exceeded 1,300.
