Over 120 Migrants Rescued Off Coast of Tripoli
Just yesterday, a boat carrying over 120 migrants ran into trouble off the coast of Tripoli, in Libya. Libyan coastguards managed to rescue the migrants, 15 of whom were women and children.
Those on board the vessel were of varying African nationalities. According to a coastguard official, the group set off on Friday, 3 February, from Sabratha, a city in the Zawiya District of Libya. It is approximately 70 km west of the country’s capital and is said to have become a staging area for traffickers.
An Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer who was at the scene of the rescue, said that the boat experienced engine failure approximately 40 km from the coast, allowing the vessel to be intercepted by the coastguard patrol boat.
More than 400 migrants bound for Europe in the past few days have been intercepted by the Libyan Coast Guard.
On Saturday, the Italian Coast Guard rescued over 1 750 migrants, that had come from various ports of departure, in the Mediterranean over a 24-hour period.
The United Nations has released statistics showing that this year alone, approximately 230 people have died en route to Europe.
