Accessibility links

Breaking News

Migrant Boat Sinks Off Libyan Coast, 200 Dead


A view of the bodies of dead migrants that were recovered by the Libyan coastguard after a boat sank off the coastal town of Zuwara, west of Tripoli, August 27, 2015.
A view of the bodies of dead migrants that were recovered by the Libyan coastguard after a boat sank off the coastal town of Zuwara, west of Tripoli, August 27, 2015.

A boat full of migrants that launched from Libya and was headed to Italy has sunk. Authorities fear about 200 people are dead.

Officials say Libya's coast guard rescued another 200 from the doomed vessel off the shores of the Libyan city of Zuwara by late Thursday.

Security officials said most of the migrants aboard the ship were from sub-Saharan Africa, Pakistan, Syria, Morocco and Bangladesh.

One migrant told Reuters news agency the boat was in bad condition. He said the route from Libya used to be called the "route of death," but now it is known as "the grave of the Mediterranean Sea."

Authorities say at least 2,400 people have died trying to reach Europe by boat this year, a toll higher than this time last year.

  • 16x9 Image

    VOA News

    The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.

XS
SM
MD
LG