The UNHCR (United Nations Haut Commissioner for Refugees) in Libya denounces yet another tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea: 63 people are missing after the boat they were traveling on overturned.
The UN agency reported on its Twitter profile that 41 people were rescued by the Coast Guard off the coast of Zwara. At the moment the rescue personnel found no trace of dead people. Survivors reported that their travel companions would have been drowned. This is the second tragedy in two days. The spokesman of the Lybia Navy, Ayob Amr Ghasem, confirmed that there was a shipwreck with drownings off the Libyan coast. “There are various boats and one was in critical condition. Surely there are some dead” said Ghasem.
Moreover, the Libyan Naval Force said that the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms “disrupted” the rescue operation of the Libyan coastguards in an attempt to provoke the migrants into rejecting the Libyan coastguards’ assistance after they had been saved onboard Libyan boats. The Libyan Navy said this is not the first time this NGO does a similar act in the sea, adding that it is trying to vex the coastguard personnel so that it can later spread fake news about their behavior, given that they had lately done so well in rescuing illegal immigrants.
Maria Elena Argano
For further information:
La Repubblica Website: http://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2018/07/01/news/nuovo_naufragio_in_libia_si_ribalta_barcone_l_unhcr_ci_sono_63_dispersi_-200565805/
Libya Observer Website: https://www.libyaobserver.ly/news/libya%E2%80%99s-navy-accuses-spanish-ngo-impeding-libya%E2%80%99s-coastguard-rescue-operations