An inflatable rubber boat carrying migrants wrecked off the coast of Libya and 73 people were missing and presumed dead, the U.N. migration agency said Wednesday. It was the latest tragedy involving migrants seeking better lives in Europe.
The U.N. International Organization for Migration said in a statement that the disaster took place Tuesday and that Libya authorities had retrieved 11 bodies.
It said the boat, packed with around 80 migrants, reportedly departed from the village of Qasr al-Akhyar, 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of the capital, Tripoli. The migrants were heading to European shores, it said.
The dead included one woman and 10 men, said Safa Msehli, IOM’s spokesperson.
It was not immediately clear what happened to the vessel but images showed the deflated broken-up rubber boat on shore.
Seven migrants, all men, survived the mishap and made it to Libyan shores, the U.N. said, and were in “extremely dire conditions.” They were taken to a hospital.