The bodies of three babies were recovered and around 100 people were missing after a migrant boat sank off the coast of Libya on Friday, survivors and the coastguard said.
About 120 migrants were aboard the inflatable craft when it ran into trouble, according to survivors brought ashore in Al-Hmidiya, east of the capital Tripoli.
Sixteen people were rescued, while the missing included two babies and three children under the age of 12.
Members of the Libyan security forces and a civilian carry the bodies of babies as migrants who survived the sinking are brought ashore in al-Hmidiya
Libyan security forces and volunteers help to bring the survivors of the tragedy ashore at al-Hmidiya
Libya’s coastguard said fishermen had spotted the vessel in difficulty and contacted the navy, which has been involved in the rescue of hundreds of migrants in recent days. Pictured: The survivors are brought ashore
One of the children is carried ashore by security services after the sinking of the vessel off Libya’s coast
Survivors told AFP the boat sank a few hours after a pre-dawn departure from Garaboulli, east of Tripoli, following an explosion on board.
The motor then caught fire and the vessel began taking on water, they said.
The passengers included a number of Moroccan families and Yemenis.
Libya’s coastguard said fishermen had spotted the vessel in difficulty and contacted the navy, which has been involved in the rescue of hundreds of migrants in recent days.
Survivors told AFP the boat sank a few hours after a pre-dawn departure from Garaboulli, east of Tripoli, following an explosion on board
Survivors (pictured) told AFP the boat sank a few hours after a pre-dawn departure from Garaboulli, east of Tripoli, following an explosion on board
About 120 migrants were aboard the inflatable craft when it ran into trouble. Pictured: The bodies of the babies who died in the tragic sinking
On June 18, five bodies were recovered and more than 100 people were saved after they were shipwrecked off the Libyan coast.
Nearly 1,000 migrants were rescued on June 24 from multiple inflatable boats which had run into trouble during perilous bids to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.
The latest shipwreck came after European Union leaders reached a deal aimed at sharing the responsibility for hosting migrants more fairly across the bloc.
The pact reached overnight includes a proposal to set up ‘disembarkation platforms’ outside the EU as a way to reduce the number of people taking the perilous sea journey.
But EU President Donald Tusk said today it was ‘far too early to talk about a success’, warning that tough work lies ahead to make the agreement work.
The bloc’s leaders thrashed out an agreement in bitter all-night talks that were almost sunk by Italy’s new hardline right-wing prime minister Giuseppe Conte, but Tusk said the task had only just begun.
‘As regards our deal on migration, it is far too early to talk about a success. We have managed to reach an agreement in the European Council, but this is in fact the easiest part of the task compared to what awaits us on the ground when we start implementing it,’ Tusk told reporters.
Charities have slammed the accord, which envisages setting up migrant assessment centres outside the EU, as letting down vulnerable people and ‘demonising’ rescuers helping migrants in the Mediterranean.
The passengers included a number of Moroccan families and Yemenis. Pictured: Some of the survivors
Migrants who survived the sinking of an inflatable dinghy boat off of the coast of Libya are brought ashore in al-Hmidiya, east of the capital Tripoli
Sixteen people were rescued, while the missing included two babies and three children under the age of 12
The bodies of three babies were recovered and around 100 people were missing after the migrant boat sank off the coast of Libya
The latest shipwreck came after European Union leaders reached a deal aimed at sharing the responsibility for hosting migrants more fairly across the bloc. Pictured: The scene in Libya after the sinking
But Tusk had a tough message for NGO rescue boats, which anti-immigration hardliners have accused of exacerbating the situation.
‘We have sent a clear message to all vessels, including those of NGOs, operating in the Mediterranean that they must respect the law and must not obstruct the operation of the Libyan coastguard,’ Tusk said.
Italy’s interior minister Matteo Salvini on Friday announced that his country’s ports would refuse to let NGO rescue ships dock or even refuel for ‘all summer’.
Salvini said the NGO boats ‘help traffickers, consciously or not’.