At least 60 migrants drown off Libya coast in shipwreck: summary

What we know

• The International Organisation for Migration says at least 60 migrants including women and children have drowned following a shipwreck off the coast of Libya.
• The boat departed from the Zwara, Libya approximately 110 km (68 miles) from the capital, Tripoli carrying about 86 migrants, Reuters reported.
• Only about 25 people were rescued and transported to a Libyan detention centre.
• Reports further indicate that most of the migrants were from Nigeria, Gambia, and other African countries.
• At least 2,250 people died on the Central European route this year, according to Flavio Di Giacomo, an IOM spokesperson.

What they said

The IOM's Libya office explained that the "large number of migrants" is presumed to have tragically lost their lives as a result of high waves that overwhelmed their vessel shortly after it set sail from Zuwara on Libya's northwest coast. Adding that "The central Mediterranean continues to be one of the world's most dangerous migration routes." Reacting to the number of migrants who died enroute to Europe this year on the Mediterranean, an IOM spokesperson Flavio Di Giacomo wrote on X that,  “It’s “a dramatic figure which demonstrates that unfortunately not enough is being done to save lives at sea.”