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Migrant Death Toll Rises as 50 Bodies Found in Boat off Libya
Mourners attend a funeral service in spring 2015 for 24 migrants who drowned while trying to reach the Southern coasts of Italy. (AP/Alessandra Tarantino)
The discovery of the bodies of roughly 50 migrants in the hull of a boat rescued off Libya’s northern coast on Wednesday adds to the more than 2,400 refugees who have died this year while trying to cross the Mediterranean into Europe.
Associated Press reports via The Guardian:
Italy’s coastguard says the Swedish ship Poseidon, which is taking part in the EU’s Triton Mediterranean operation, rescued 439 people from the ship.
The rescue was one of 10 requests for assistance that arrived at the coastguard’s operations centre as Libya-based smugglers take advantage of calm seas to send boats overloaded with migrants to Europe.
The toll was similar to the estimated 40 migrants who died, apparently from fuel fumes, on 15 August.
Migrants by the tens of thousands are braving the perilous journey across the Mediterranean this year, hoping to reach Europe and be granted asylum. They are fleeing war, persecution and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
—Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
Related Entries
- August 26, 2015 VIDEO: Youth Revolts Are Back: Lebanon, Iraq Shaken by Demand for Services, End to Corruption
- August 8, 2015 More Than 2,000 Are Thought to Have Died This Year Trying to Cross Into Europe by Sea
Source: http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/migrant_death_toll_rises_as_50_bodies_found_in_boat_off_libya_20150827/
