Dozens of bodies of Europebound migrants recovered

CAIRO — Libya’s coast guard recovered dozens of bodies of Europebound migrants who perished at sea as search operations continued Friday, a day after up to 150 people, including women and children, went missing and were feared drowned after their boats capsized in the Mediterranean Sea.

A top U.N. official described Thursday’s shipwreck as “the worst Mediterranean tragedy” so far this year.

The AntiIllegal Immigration Agency in the Libyan capital said that up to 350 migrants were on board the boats that capsized off the coast of Khoms, around 75 miles east of Tripoli.

The migrants include nationals from Eritrea, Egypt, Sudan and Libya, the agency said. Libyan officials said more than 130 migrants have been rescued since Thursday.

At least a dozen were taken to a hospital in Khoms while the rest were transferred to different detention centers, including Tajoura, located near the front lines of the fighting between rival Libyan factions, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Tajoura detention center was hit by an air strike on July 3 that killed more than 50 people and raised new concerns over the treatment of migrants in Libya.

One of the survivors from Thursday’s shipwreck, from Eritrea, said his vessel started to capsize after an hour of sailing. Most of the migrants on board were women, he said, and most of them drowned.

Amnesty International called on EU leaders to “show some courage” and reverse their decision to halt migrant rescues in the Mediterranean and change an approach that “doesn’t condemn those who survive to detention in Libya.”

The U.N. refugee agency says 164 migrants have died traveling from Libya to Europe since the start of the year