GENEVA (AP) — At least 73 migrants bound for Europe are missing and presumed dead after a shipwreck off the coast of Libya, the United Nations migration agency said on Wednesday.
Libyan authorities have recovered at least 11 bodies after Tuesday’s incident, the International Organization for Migration said in a statement.
Seven people survived and managed to reach the Libyan coast in “extreme conditions”, added the UN. They were transferred to a hospital.
The sinking is the latest tragedy in the central Mediterranean, a key route for migrants.
In recent years, Libya has become the main transit point for migrants from Africa and the Middle East trying to reach Europe. The oil-rich country was thrown into chaos after the NATO-backed popular uprising that toppled and killed dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.