Up to 500 feared dead in Mediterranean shipwreck
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 20 April 2016 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Up to 500 feared dead in Mediterranean shipwreck, 20 April 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5769003bc.html [accessed 20 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
April 20, 2016
The UN refugee agency says up to 500 people are feared dead in a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea last week.
UNHCR said the disaster occurred between Italy and Libya, according to dozens of survivors who were rescued on April 16 by a merchant ship.
The survivors said they had been among 100 to 200 people who left a town near Tobruk, Libya, on a smugglers' boat last week.
The agency said in a statement on April 20 that "after sailing for several hours, the smugglers in charge of the boat attempted to transfer the passengers to a larger ship carrying hundreds of people in terribly overcrowded conditions."
The agency said "at one point during the transfer, the larger boat capsized and sank."
The 41 survivors – 37 men, three women, and a 3-year-old child – were rescued by a merchant ship and taken to Kalamata, in Greece.
Those rescued include 23 Somalis, 11 Ethiopians, six Egyptians, and a Sudanese national.
Based on reporting by AP and dpa
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
