74 migrant bodies wash up in Libya

CAIRO — At least 74 bodies of African migrants have washed ashore in western Libya, the Libyan Red Crescent said Tuesday, the latest tragedy at sea along a perilous but increasingly popular trafficking route to Europe.

The bodies were found Monday near the western Libyan city of Zawiya, Red Crescent spokesman Mohammed al- Misrati said, adding that he feared more might surface. He said a torn rubber boat, the kind that usually carries up to 120 people, was found nearby.

The Red Crescent’s branch in Zawiya said there were bodies still floating at sea but it had no means to recover them.

The International Organization for Migration said the traffickers took the engine and left the boat to drift. Another 12 migrants remained missing and are “presumed drowned,” and a sole survivor was transferred to a hospital in a coma, the U. N. migration agency said on Twitter.

The Red Crescent posted photographs of dozens of bodies in white and black bags lined up along the shore. Al- Misrati said the bodies would be taken to a cemetery for unidentified people in the capital, Tripoli.