Migrant boat sinks near Libya; 117 missing, 3 rescued
- 5 years ago
Scores of migrants are feared to have drowned off the coast of Libya... after a rubber dinghy overturned in the Mediterranean.
A helicopter dispatched by Italy was able to rescue three people, but according to the UN's migration agency, the other 117 people are missing.
Those, it said, include ten women and two children.
The boat was spotted by an Italian patrol plane Friday night, local time, sinking around 90 kilometers northeast of Tripoli.
Italy said it alerted Libya about the boat, but rescue efforts ended when the search proved fruitless.
Already this year 83 people have died trying to cross the sea from North Africa, and last year by this time there were 199 deaths.
A helicopter dispatched by Italy was able to rescue three people, but according to the UN's migration agency, the other 117 people are missing.
Those, it said, include ten women and two children.
The boat was spotted by an Italian patrol plane Friday night, local time, sinking around 90 kilometers northeast of Tripoli.
Italy said it alerted Libya about the boat, but rescue efforts ended when the search proved fruitless.
Already this year 83 people have died trying to cross the sea from North Africa, and last year by this time there were 199 deaths.