Many Migrants Missing, Some Feared Dead Off Libyan Coast

Two dozen migrants are missing or dead after their rubber dinghy capsized off the Libyan coast, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported on Tuesday.

“Most of them are believed to be Egyptian nationals” IOM spokeswoman Safa Msehli, told dpa from Geneva.

Msehli said while two bodies had been recovered from the water, 22 people were still missing in the Mediterranean.

The boat was one of three that departed from the coastal city of Zawya on Sunday, carrying Moroccan and Egyptian migrants.

The Libyan coast guard returned 45 migrants to Tripoli on Monday night, according to the report.

According to the IOM, so far this year, around 400 migrants have died at sea on the central Mediterranean route to southern Europe.