TRIPOLI – At least 90 migrants are feared to have drowned after asmuggler’s boat capsized off Libya, according to the UN Migration Agency.
“Ten bodies (two Libyans and eight Pakistanis) are reported to have washedup on Libyan shores,” the International Organization for Migration (IOM)said in a statement.
Early indications suggest the boat became unbalanced.
Three survivors said most of those who drowned were Pakistani nationals.
The UN agency says Pakistani nationals had been taking an increasinglylarge share of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean via Libya toEurope.
Libya is the main gateway for migrants trying to cross to Europe by sea,though numbers have dropped sharply since July as Libyan factions andauthorities – under pressure from Italy and the European Union – have begunto block departures.
More than 600,000 people are believed to have made the journey from Libyato Italy over the past four years.