At least four people have died after two boats carrying migrants and asylum seekers capsized off the coast of Libya, according to the Libyan Red Crescent Society.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the organisation said the incident took place late Thursday near the coastal city of Al-Khums.
The first vessel was carrying 26 Bangladeshis. Among them, four lost their lives, the Red Crescent confirmed.
The second boat had 69 people on board, including Egyptian and Sudanese nationals. The fate of many passengers from this vessel remains unclear. Authorities said eight children were among those travelling.
Al-Khums, located around 118 kilometres east of the capital Tripoli, is a common departure point for migrants attempting perilous sea crossings.
Since the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has become a major transit route for migrants escaping conflict and poverty and trying to reach Europe.
Photos released by the Red Crescent show bodies wrapped in plastic bags laid out in rows. Other images depict volunteers administering first aid to survivors and people sitting on the ground wrapped in blankets after being rescued.
The statement added that the Libyan Coast Guard and the Al-Khums Port Security Agency participated in the operation. The bodies have been handed over to the authorities on the instructions of the public prosecutor.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Wednesday that at least 42 migrants went missing—and are presumed dead—after a rubber boat sank near the Al-Bouri oil field, located off Libya’s northwest coast.
Just last month, the bodies of 61 migrants were recovered near the western coast of Tripoli. Earlier in September, the IOM said at least 50 Sudanese refugees died after a fire broke out on their boat off the Libyan coast.
During a UN meeting in Geneva last week, several countries—including the UK, Spain, Norway and Sierra Leone—urged Libya to shut down detention centres where migrants and refugees have reportedly faced torture, beatings and even killings.
