Two babies are among at least 53 people dead or missing after an inflatable migrant boat sank off Libya, the U.N. migration agency said on Monday, the latest tragedy on a dangerous route for those seeking a better life in Europe.
The U.N.’s International Organization for Migration said in a statement the boat with 55 African migrants on board departed Libya’s western town of Zawaiya shortly before midnight on Thursday.
Around six hours later it began taking on water and capsized on Friday morning north of the town of Zuwara, the agency said.
Two Nigerian women survived the shipwreck and were rescued by Libyan authorities, IOM said. One of them said she lost her husband, while the other reported losing her two babies.
“Trafficking and smuggling networks continue to exploit migrants along the central Mediterranean route,” the U.N. agency said. These networks make profits through using “unseaworthy boats” to sail migrants
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