Sixty-one migrants, "mainly refugees from Sudan", are missing after their boat sank off the coast of eastern Libya on Saturday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said last night, adding that 13 people had been rescued, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
"UNHCR is deeply saddened by the second tragic incident off the coast of Tobruk, when a boat carrying 74 people, mainly Sudanese refugees, sank", the Libyan office of the UNHCR wrote on the social network "Ex". "Only 13 people survived, and dozens more are still missing," the UN agency added.
Earlier yesterday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced that a ship sank off the coast of Tobruk on Sunday after the vessel caught fire. "At least 50" Sudanese refugees died, while 24 were rescued.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, nor what the final destination of the journey was, the IOM said.
According to UN figures, at least 1,225 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean since the beginning of the year. It is believed that the number may be higher, as many unregistered vessels may have sunk overnight without being noticed.