Bodies of at least 74 migrants wash ashore in Libya

THE BODIES of at least 74 migrants have been found washed up on the shore in western Libya after the engine of their inflatable boat was stolen, coastguard and aid officials said on Tuesday.

Red Crescent spokesman Mohamed al-misrati said the corpses had been recovered on Monday near the city of Zawiya and the migrants appeared to have died during the past two days. They were all adults, mostly from sub-saharan African countries, and all but three were men.

The Zawiya coastguard posted a video that showed the migrants’ boat, with no engine, as the first bodies were recovered.

Joel Millman, a spokesman for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), said a local staff member had reported that “traffickerscameandremovedtheengine from the boat and left the craft adrift”.

“This is not a only horrible number of deaths in one incident but it strikes us as something that we haven’t really seen much of, which is either deliberate punishment or murder of migrants,” Millman said.

Libya is the main departure point for migrants hoping to reach Europe by sea. They generally attempt the crossing in flimsy inflatable craft loaded with small amounts of fuel which are intended to get them only as far as European rescue vessels stationed in international waters.

Most leave from the stretch of Libyan coast between Tripoli and the Tunisian border to the west. The bodies of those who drown are frequently found on Libyan shores. REUTERS