Witnesses say ship with 600 sunk near Libya
A ship carrying up to 600 migrants trying to flee Libya has sunk off the coast of the North African country, the U.N. Refugee Agency said Monday, citing witness accounts. The agency is trying to confirm what happened to the passengers when the vessel broke apart at sea Friday, spokeswoman Laura Boldrini said. Witnesses who departed on another boat shortly after reported seeing the ship broken apart and bodies floating in the sea, Boldrini said. That boat arrived later in Italy. There was no information on how many people might have died, and the uprising in Libya makes any official accounting unlikely. At least three other boats that departed Libya in late March have disappeared, Boldrini said, bringing to 800 the number of people believed to have perished at sea trying to reach European shores. The number of migrants fleeing North Africa's shores have increased since the region has been engulfed in a series of uprisings. Boldrini said the incidence of deaths and disappearances among seafaring migrants fleeing unrest and repressive regimes in Africa is increasing as smugglers begin to use bigger boats that they are not capable of controlling. She said that the UNHCR advised the Italian Coast Guard at the time that boats carrying 320 and 360 migrants respectively had disappeared, although it was not clear where. The information was obtained from relatives who had lost contact with their loved ones. The Italian Coast guard later told the UNHCR that they were not able to come up with any information, she said. In another case, relayed by an Eritrean priest in Rome, a boat with more than 70 migrants on board ran into trouble in the seas, she said. Only a handful survived, making their way back to Libya, according to the priest.
The 800 death toll also includes the deaths of 250 who drowned on April 6 about 40 miles (60 kilometers) off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa. Boldrini called for an improvement in communication between coast guards, military and commercial ships. "We need take heed of a situation that is very much evolving. We have to cooperate much more closely," she said. In some instances, she said, ships might see the boats but not intervene if there isn't an obvious mechanical problem or emergency. "Rescue should be automatic, without waiting for the boat to break apart or the engine to stop running," Boldrini said.
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