2018 Libya migrant shipwrecks began on January 9, 2018, when up to 100 migrants went missing as their migrant rubber boat was punctured and sank off

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

's coast.

Description

On January 9, 2018, up to 100 migrants went missing from Libya when their rubber boat was punctured and sank off Libya's coast. Libyan coastguard had picked up nearly 300 migrants from three boats off the coast, but one rubber boat was punctured and the coastguard only found 16 survivors clinging to its wreckage. The coastguard said the number of missing might be as high as 100. The boat sank off the city of

Al-Khums Al-Khums or Khoms ( ar, الخمس) is a city, port and the de jure capital of the Murqub District on the Mediterranean coast of Libya with an estimated population of around 202,000. The population at the 1984 census was 38,174. Between 1983 and 19 ...

, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of the Libyan capital. Libyan coastguard picked up nearly 300 migrants from three boats off the coast of Libya on Tuesday, January 9, 1980. On January 6, 2018, sixty-four people died after a dinghy sank in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

. The

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

coastguard rescued 86 people from the boat hours after it sustained a puncture and started sinking on Saturday morning. The deaths represented the first large-scale migrant tragedy of 2018 in the Mediterranean.

Background history

A total of 2,832 migrants died on the Central Mediterranean route between

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in 2017, down from 4,581 in 2016. The number of migrants who reached Italy in 2017 was 119,310, down from 181,436 in 2016.

References

External links

2018 in Libya Migrant shipwreck Maritime incidents in Libya January 2018 events in Africa Transport disasters involving refugees of the Arab Winter (2011–present) Migrant boat disasters in the Mediterranean Sea Maritime incidents related to the European migrant crisis {{Libya-stub