Up to 700 migrants feared dead in shipwrecks off coast of Libya

Up to 700 migrants are feared to have drowned in shipwrecks off Libya's coast in the past few days, the United Nations Refugee Agency says.

A vessel with 500 people sank in Mediterranean Sea on Thursday, according to the UNHCR. A ship that sunk Wednesday killed 100 people and another 45 bodies were recovered in a wreck Friday in which 135 people were rescued.

"We'll never know the exact number, we'll never know their identity, but survivors tell that over 500 human beings died," Carlotta Sami, UNHRC spokeswoman, said on Twitter about the sinking Thursday.

Survivors rescued at sea and brought to ports in Sicily two boats were involved. One carrying around 500 migrants was towing the second with 500 people and without an engine

"We tried everything to stop the water, to bail it out of the boat," a Nigerian girl told cultural mediators, according to La Stampa daily. "We used our hands, plastic glasses. For two hours we fought against the water but it was useless. It began to flood the boat, and those below deck had no chance. Women, men, children, many children, were trapped, and drowned."

Italian authorities said a flotilla of EU ships rescue of more than 600 migrants off Libya on Saturday, bringing the weekly total to at least 13,000...
 [upi.com]
29/5/16