MARSEILLE (AFP) – At least 60 people died on a migrant boat that lost power as it tried to reach Europe from Libya, an aid group said on Thursday, citing accounts from those rescued.
“Survivors report that at least 60 people died en route, including women and at least one child,” said Marseille-based SOS Mediterranee.
The group’s Ocean Viking rescue ship is currently heading for port, carrying 224 people rescued from different boats.
Among them are 25 from a boat that survivors said had set off from Zawiya, Libya on March 8 – only for its motor to give out three days later. United Nations International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said it was “deeply troubled by news of a shipwreck in the Central Mediterranean”.
Passengers reported drifting without food or water for several days, said SOS Mediterranee.
It was not immediately clear how those who died were said to have lost their lives. AFP was not in an immediate position to confirm the toll.
Ocean Viking also has aboard 113 people recovered on Wednesday night and a further 88 rescued on Thursday from “an overloaded inflatable craft”.
