35 feared dead after migrant boat capsizes off Libya

CAIRO — A migrant boat has capsized off the Libyan coast, leaving at least 35 people dead or presumed dead, the U.N. migration agency said Saturday.

The shipwreck took place Friday off the western Libyan city of Sabratha, a major launching point for the mainly African migrants making the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean, said the International Organization for Migration.

The bodies of six migrants were pulled out of the IOM's hands, while 29 others were missing and presumed dead. It was not immediately clear what caused the wooden boat to capsize.

The tragedy involved migrants leaving North Africa to seek a better life in Europe. At least 53 people have been reported dead or presumed dead off Libya this past week, according to the IOM.

The IOM said a search and rescue capacity and a safe disembarkation mechanism are urgently needed to prevent further deaths and suffering.

Investigators from the UN top human rights body found evidence of possible crimes against humanity committed in Libya against migrants held in government-run prisons and at the hands of human traffickers.

More than 90 people in an overcrowded boat drowned in the Mediterranean Sea earlier this month, days after they left Libya, according to the Doctors Without Borders aid group.

Migrants try to reach European shores by crossing the Mediterranean from Libya. The country has emerged as the main transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.

Human traffickers have been benefited from the chaos in Libya, smuggled in migrants over the country's long borders with six nations in recent years. The migrants are usually packed into ill-equipped rubber boats and set off on risky sea voyages.

Between Jan. 1 and April 11 there were 476 deaths along the Central Mediterranean route, according to the IOM.

Once back in Libya, the migrants are typically taken to government-run detention centers rife with abuse and ill-treatment.