The latest boat drama off the coast of Libya, according to the aid organization Red Crescent could have been up to 200 people killed. So far, 67 bodies have been recovered from the Mediterranean and 138 people are still missing, said Osama al-Fadhili, leader of the Red Crescent in the port city of al-Khums (Khoms), the dpa yesterday.
It would be the worst boat accident in the Mediterranean in the current year. The disaster had occurred about five kilometers off the Libyan coast. According to Fadhili, 360 people were aboard a boat that had been broken into two pieces during the passage to Europe. 160 of the inmates had been rescued. The exact number of fatalities may be determined only if remaining bodies were flushed to the coast, it said.
The number of missing persons was contradictory. According to the Libyan Coast Guard, 115 migrants were missing after the accident, while the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spoke of about 150 missing persons. According to the Libyan Coast Guard, 250 people were on board.
