At least 74 migrants drown

Tunis: At least 74 migrants died in a shipwreck off the coast of Libya yesterday, the United Nations’ migration agency said, with 47 survivors brought to shore by coastguards and fishermen.

Libya, which has had no stable central government since a Natobacked uprising in 2011, is a major transit point for mainly African migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean and reach Europe.

At least 900 have already drowned this year attempting the crossing, according to the agency, the International Organisation for Migration. — Reuters