74 bodies wash up on Libya’s shores
TRIPOLI // The bodies of 74 migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe have washed up on a beach west of the Libyan capital, the Red Crescent said yesterday.
Residents of the village of Harcha, 45 kilometres from Tripoli, alerted emergency services after finding a wrecked boat on the beach with bodies inside, the Red Crescent said.
More were discovered elsewhere on the beach and more were feared to be in the sea.
“We don’t have an appropriate vehicle to transport the bodies or a cemetery for unidentified bodies to bury them in,” the group said.
“Some bodies are still on the beach and others that we can’t reach are still floating in the water.”
The International Organisation for Migration said the boat was reported to have foundered on Sunday, killing as many as 100 people.
“Traffickers reportedly stole the engine and left it to drift,” the agency said. “A survivor, reportedly in a coma, was transferred to hospital.”
The agency said that if confirmed, the deaths would bring the total number of migrants killed trying to cross the Mediterranean so far this year to more than 365.
It said that 187 were rescued off Zawiya on Saturday and were being held in a detention centre.
The agency said migrant arrivals in Italy had risen sharply this year compared with the same period last year.
As of Sunday, 10,120 had arrived, compared with 6,589 between January 1 and February 18 last year.
People smugglers have taken advantage of the chaos gripping Libya since the 2011 uprising to greatly boost their lucrative trade.
Most departures take place from the west of Libya, usually heading for Italy 300km across the Mediterranean.
Europeans are considering measures aimed at blocking the arrival of thousands of migrants, alarming NGOs that fear that those stranded in Libya may suffer mistreatment.
In the absence of an army or a regular police force in Libya, several militias act as coastguards but are often accused of complicity or even involvement in the people-smuggling business.