Spanish ships rescue 200 migrants off Libyan coast
A Spanish humanitarian aid agency’s ship rescued on Saturday over 200 illegal immigrants off the Libyan coast as they were on their hazardous journey to Italy.
The crew members of the ship from the Spanish Proactiva Open Arms said that two migrant-crowded boats were rescued 22 miles off Sabratha coast in western Libya.
It added that most of the illegal migrants were from Ghana, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka.
“There 20 women among the 200 rescued migrants and one newborn from Nigeria.” The ship crew reported.
They added that the rescued migrants were taken to safety to Italian Sicily island.
Over 650 immigrants have died since the beginning of 2017 while trying to reach Italy using Libya as a crossing point, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said.
Last year, 4700 immigrants drowned in the Mediterranean as they were making the dangerous trip to EU countries from Libyan beaches, IOM indicated.
How to submit an Op-Ed: Libyan Express accepts opinion articles on a wide range of topics. Submissions may be sent to oped@libyanexpress.com. Please include ‘Op-Ed’ in the subject line.
- Libya’s HCS invites applicants for key state roles - December 31, 2023
- UK calls on Iran to prevent escalation in Israel-Hamas conflict - November 05, 2023
- Libyan Interior Minister: Immigrant shelter costs a fortune - November 05, 2023