A boat carrying hundreds of migrants attempting to reach Europe capsized off the coast of Libya, leaving dozens dead or missing. Pakistan's Prime Minister expressed deep sorrow over the deaths of Pakistani citizens aboard the vessel. This tragedy highlights the perilous journeys migrants undertake to reach Europe, often aided by smugglers.
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s prime minister on Tuesday expressed his deep grief and sorrow over the deaths of an unspecified number of his countrymen over the weekend when a boat carrying Europe-bound migrants sank near the Libyan coast. The boat capsized on Saturday in the Marsa Dela port in the western city of Zawiya, leaving dozens of Europe-bound migrants dead or missing, according to local authorities in Libya.
The Libyan Red Crescent said its teams recovered 10 bodies and the coast guard was searching for others. Pakistan says an estimated 65 people were on the boat, and efforts were underway to ascertain information about affected Pakistanis. In a statement, Shehbaz Sharif ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to complete the process of identifying the victims as soon as possible and to provide all possible assistance to the affected people. He also ordered action against those “involved in heinous acts like human trafficking,” according to a statement. This tragedy is just the latest in a long string of deadly incidents involving migrants attempting to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea. Last year, a similar incident occurred when a boat capsized off West Africa. However, some of the survivors upon their return home insisted that their boat had not capsized and in fact smugglers killed 43 migrants in a dispute over payment. 2 mass graves with bodies of nearly 50 migrants found in southeastern Libya. Hundreds of Pakistanis die every year while trying to reach Europe by land and sea with the help of human smugglers. They also use dangerous land and sea routes to reach Europe in an effort to find good jobs. Libya, which has borders with six nations and a long shore on the Mediterranean, plunged into chaos following a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime autocrat Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Since then, the oil-rich country has emerged as a major transit point for migrants seeking to reach Europe.According to the International Organization for Migration’s missing migrants project, at least 674 migrants were reported dead and more than 1,000 missing off Libya in 2024. More than 21,700 migrants were intercepted and returned to the chaos-stricken country. In 2023, the IOM reported 962 migrants dead and 1,563 missing off Libya. Around 17,200 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya in 2023, it said. Those people are held in government-run detention centers rife with abuses, including forced labor, beatings, rapes and torture — practices that amount to crimes against humanity, according to U.N.-commissioned investigators. The abuse often accompanies attempts to extort money from the families of the imprisoned migrants before releasing them or allowing them to leave Libya on traffickers’ boats to Europe.
MIGRANTS BOAT CAPSIZE LIBYA PAKISTAN HUMAN TRAFFICKING MEDITERRANEAN SEA INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION
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