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Libya has been an essential starting point for migrants hoping to reach European shores. By Mahmud TURKIA (AFP / File)
The body of a baby was found after a shipwreck Tuesday off the Libyan coast, said one official, while at least eight migrants are missing at sea.
A boat carrying 27 people sank near the coastal town of Sabratha, west of Tripoli, the Libyan capital, said Bbadem al-Gharabli, head of the local bureau of the fight against illegal immigration.
The figure is based on the testimony of 18 survivors, who, according to Gharabli, were rescued after fishermen alerted the coast guard.
The group trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea included seven women, said Gharabli without specifying the nationalities of the migrants.
The Libyan office of the International Organization for Migration confirmed the sinking and reported that 15 people had been hospitalized.
"Some of them have fractured bones, according to the IOM doctor on the spot," IOM wrote on Twitter.
Thousands of people have died in recent years trying to cross North Africa to reach European shores, crammed into crumbling boats by smugglers.
Libya has been an essential starting point for those hoping to reach Italy, 300 kilometers to the north.
But a controversial decision taken in Rome to close its ports to save ships has reduced the number of arrivals in recent months.
According to figures from the United Nations Refugee Agency, nearly 350 migrants have reached Italy so far in 2019.
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