A fishing boat transferring hundreds of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea from Libya has capsized off the North African country.
UNHCR officials while giving statements on the social media
said that 399 people have been rescued and 25 confirmed dead out of the estimated
600 migrants on the boat.
The Punch reported that a Valletta, Malta based journalist,
Karl
Stagno-Navarra told Al Jazeera that an Irish navy vessel also confirmed that the boat capsized when the
people on board gathered one side as the LE Niamh approached it.
Stagno-Navarra in his words said: “The Irish vessel LE Niamh was present in the area, as part of the
EU-sponsored operations dealing with migration at sea,” while adding that
it got close to the migrant boat after receiving a distress signal.
He added that Italian coastguard, a vessel of the Malta-based
Migrant Offshore Aid Station and representatives of Doctors Without Borders
(MSF) are on ground to be part of the rescue efforts.
MSF on Twitter recounted that, “There have tragically been many deaths, but [the MSF] does not have
figures at this stage.”
Stagno-Navarra while speaking stressed that: “This is an extremely difficult operation
as many migrants do not know how to swim and the conditions are reported to be
windy and stormy.”
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