Dozens dead as migrant boat sinks off Libya

TRIPOLI: At least 25 migrants died after their boat sank off Libya’s western coast on Saturday and survivors were being brought back to port in Tripoli, Libyan coastguard oficials said.

Separately, a 10-year-old Afghan boy was crushed to death Saturday on board an overcrowded boat carrying scores of migrants headed from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos, Greek news agency ANA reported.

Panic erupted when the 66 migrants on board the rickety vessel saw a patrol boat from European border agency Frontex approaching, afraid they would be taken back to Turkey, ANA said.

The boy was on the boat with his parents and two younger sisters. When she discovered her son had died in the chaos, his mother tried to end her life by jumping into the sea, only to be rescued by the coastguard.

Libya is the main departure point for mostly African migrants trying to cross to Europe. Smugglers usually pack them into limsy inflatable boats that often break down or sink.

Most migrants are picked up by international vessels and taken to Italy, where more than 115,000 have landed so far this year, although an increasing number are intercepted by Libya’s European-backed coastguard and returned to the North African country.

Since July, there has been a sharp drop in crossings, though this week has seen a renewed surge in departures.

Nearly 3,000 migrants are known to have died or be missing after trying to cross to Europe by sea this year, the majority of them between Libya and Italy.

The International Organization for Migration said on Friday that since 2000 the Mediterranean had been “by far the world’s deadliest border.”

Despite a Eu-turkey deal in 2016 aimed at stemming the migrant low to Greece, refugees and migrants desperate for a fresh start continue to arrive on the southern European nation’s shores -- with a spike in the numbers since this summer.

At least three migrants have drowned this month while attempting to reach Greece, while a nine-year-old girl died in September.

The casualties are far lower than in 2015 and 2016, when hundreds of people drowned, including several children.

Despite the relative improvement, tragedy continues to strike. On Nov.11, the remains of a man, a girl and a boy were found on a Lesbos beach.