\u201cOnly two Nigerian women rescued and search operation continued by Libyan authorities,\u201d says IOM
\n Zuwara
\nThe UN migration agency on Monday said 53 people were dead or missing after a boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the Libyan coast. Only two survivors were rescued.
\nThe International Organisation for Migration said the boat overturned north of Zuwara on Friday.
\n\u201cOnly two Nigerian women were rescued during a search-and-rescue operation by Libyan authorities,\u201d the IOM said in a statement, adding that one of the survivors said she lost her husband and the other said \u201cshe lost her two babies in the tragedy\u201d.
\nThe IOM said its teams provided the two survivors with emergency medical care upon disembarkation.
\n\u201cAccording to survivor accounts, the boat, carrying migrants and refugees of African nationalities, departed from Al-Zawiya, Libya, at around 11:00 pm on February 5. Approximately six hours later, it capsized after taking on water,\u201d the agency said.
\n\u201cIOM mourns the loss of life in yet another deadly incident along the Central Mediterranean route.\u201d
\nThe Geneva-based agency said trafficking and smuggling networks were exploiting migrants along the route from north Africa to southern Europe, profiting from dangerous crossings in unseaworthy boats while exposing people to \u201csevere abuse\u201d.
\nIt called for stronger international cooperation to tackle the networks, alongside safe and regular migration pathways to reduce risks and save lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cOnly two Nigerian women rescued and search operation continued by Libyan authorities,\u201d says IOM Zuwara The UN migration agency on Monday said 53 people were dead or missing after a boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the Libyan coast. Only two survivors were rescued. The International Organisation for Migration said the boat overturned north […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530486,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-530473","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n