Cairo, April 4 / BNA / A prominent humanitarian organization said that more than 90 people on an overcrowded boat drowned in the Mediterranean, in the latest tragedy for migrants who left North Africa to seek a better life in Europe.
Doctors Without Borders said the migrants were on a ship that left Libya last week. Juan Matías Gil, the group’s mission chief, said it was not clear exactly when the boat had problems.
The organisation, also known by its French acronym MSF, said an oil tanker rescued four migrants early Saturday morning in international waters. Survivors said they were on the boat with about 100 other migrants.
Médecins Sans Frontières said the tanker had not responded to its calls not to return the migrants to Libya, where they would “almost certainly face detention, abuse and mistreatment”.
The group urged Italy and Malta “to allocate a safe place for the survivors before it is too late”. The European Union Border Protection Agency also called on Frontex and other EU agencies to disclose the details of the incident.
Migrants regularly attempt to cross the Mediterranean from the North African country in a desperate attempt to reach European shores. The country has emerged as a dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.
Human traffickers have profited in recent years from the chaos in Libya, smuggling migrants across the oil-rich country’s long border with six countries. The migrants are usually packed into poorly equipped inflatable boats and set off on perilous sea voyages.
About 300 migrants died or presumed to have died along the Central Mediterranean route between January 1 and March 28, according to the International Organization for Migration. About 3,100 were intercepted and returned to Libya.
Once migrants return to Libya, they are usually transferred to government-run detention centers where abuse and mistreatment are common.
In 2021, at least 32,425 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya. According to the International Organization for Migration, it is assumed that at least 1,553 people drowned last year.
Investigators commissioned by the United Nations’ highest human rights body have found evidence of possible crimes against humanity committed in Libya against migrants detained in the country.