Officers of coast guard found illegal immigrant ships in Libya, two of them died and 25 others were still missing. (Illustration / REUTERS / Marina Militare)

2 People Died, an Immigrant Rubber Boat in Libya Inverted Tragically

Libya - A spokesman for the local coast guard, Ayoub Qassem confirmed that a rubber ship carrying immigrants inverted in Libyan waters on Sunday (2/6) with two immigrants are dying and another 25 are still missing. According to Qassem, the rubber boat originally contained 73 immigrants including 40 men, 25 women and eight children. They were from Sudan, Kenya, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria.

Qassem stated as quoted from Reuters that, the damaged rubber boat was found without machinery and illegal immigrants held onto it. The coast guard received a report about the matter and picked up the boat located about 22 kilometers off the city of Qarabulli or 49 kilometers east of Tripoli. When the coast guard arrived, the immigrants have hung on the boat, waiting to be saved. Unfortunately, officers also found the bodies of a woman and children.

It is reported that Illegal immigrants from these areas are often found, and usually they are trying to reach mainland Europe for a better life. Usually, they do depart from the west waters of Libya. The chaos that has occurred in the area since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled has been used by those who wanted to smuggle them in 2011.

However, since July 2017, many officers have been patrolling to drive away immigrants from Africa who arrived in Italian waters. This happened because according to UN data, 2,297 immigrants died or disappeared in Mediterranean waters last year, while immigrants who have entered Europe reached around 116,959 people.

Source: https://www.cnnindonesia.com/internasional/20190603065135-127-400562/kapal-imigran-terbalik-di-libya-2-tewas-termasuk-anak-anak