An estimated 90 migrants, most of them Pakistanis, are feared to have drowned off the coast of Libya after a smuggler’s boat capsized early on Friday (February 2), leaving three known survivors and 10 bodies washed up on shore, the International Organization (IOM) said.
Survivors told aid workers that most of the migrants on board were Pakistanis, who form a growing group heading to Italy from North Africa, IOM said.
Of the ten bodies which came ashore, two of them were Libyans and eight Pakistanis, IOM said.
Searches were ongoing for potential survivors, but IOM spokesman Leonard Doyle said there was little hope of finding any.
Earlier, security officials in the western Libyan town of Zuwara said two Libyans and one Pakistani had been rescued from the boat.
Zuwara, located near Libya’s border with Tunisia, was a favoured site for migrant boat departures over the past two years but of late has seen only occasional departures.
