Death toll after migrant boat sinks off Libya hits 34

The death toll after a boat sank off the Libyan coast five days ago has hit 34 after 11 bodies were recovered yesterday, reports the Libyan Red Crescent.

The hotline Alarm Phone said on Wednesday that one of the passengers had made a distress call to them to say that their inflatable boat was sinking and that it was carrying around 100 passengers.

“The number of victims could increase,” a security source told AFP, adding that “in this kind of incident, the chances of survival are slim… especially since no call for help was launched.”

🆘Shipwrecks off #Italy & #Libya! Dozens of bodies wash up at the shores of #Tunisia. At the same time, Alarm Phone is alerted to 26 ongoing distress situations at sea. Europe, don't let even more people drown. Mass rescue efforts are desperately needed!

— Alarm Phone (@alarm_phone) April 24, 2023

The journey through the Mediterranean Sea has been called “the world’s deadliest migratory sea crossing” by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

Tens of thousands of people every year attempt the 300-kilometre journey using the main departure points, either Libya or Tunisia.

READ: Italy should not be left alone in Mediterranean migration flow

How safe is it to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe?

Smugglers often tell migrants that the boat crossing is fast, safe and easy. This video explains why that is not true. pic.twitter.com/jBNvjq0soj

— InfoMigrants (@InfoMigrants) April 24, 2023

Many have drowned; others are intercepted by coastguards from Tunisia and Libya, where they are kept in inhuman conditions.

Earlier this month, over 50 organisations signed a statement to say that Tunisia was neither a safe country of origin, nor a place of safety for people rescued at sea.

In February Tunisian President Kais Saied made inflammatory, racist comments about black people in the country, accusing them of being part of a “plot” to change the demography of the country.

What followed was a series of mob attacks on black people. Many lost their jobs and accommodation overnight and others who had spoken to the media were later arrested.

This, coupled with an intensified crackdown on members of the opposition, has led civil society groups to urge the European Union to withdraw migration control agreements with Tunisia.

Human rights organisations have long warned that Libya is an unsafe country for migrants to be taken to as many have reported being detained, beaten and subject to sexual violence.