The United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported 73 migrants missing after a boat carrying them shipwrecked off the Libyan coast on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, a group of 80 people bound for Europe packed themselves on board a boat and set off from the Libyan coastal city Qasr al-Akhyar east of Tripoli.
So far, the Libyan Red Crescent and police managed to recover 11 bodies, while only seven people managed to return to the shores, the UN organization said.
"Seven survivors who made it back to shore in extremely dire conditions are currently in the hospital," the IOM tweeted on Wednesday.
With this tragedy, the death toll of migrants who died at sea increased to 130 people since the beginning of 2023, according to the IOM data.
Since 2022, the Missing Migrants Project at the IOM reported more than 1,450 fatalities on this route.
The organization urged tangible action to support search and rescue operations, describing the situation as unbearable.
It also called for adopting a clear and safe mechanism for disembarking the migrants and establishing safe and legal pathways for migration.
