TRIPOLI, 08 October 2021, (TON): The coast guard said that the bodies of 17 migrants have been found washed up on a Libyan beach after their boat capsized during a bid to reach Europe by sea.

Libya is a major departure point for desperate migrants, tens of thousands of whom board unseaworthy boats every year in attempts to reach Italian shores 300 kilometres (190 miles) away. The voyages often turn deadly.

He said “over the past 24 hours, the bodies of 17 migrants were found on the coast between the cities of Zawiya and Sorman, by Red Crescent teams.”

The Red Crescent in Zawiya, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of the capital Tripoli, published images of corpses covered in shrouds. The number of migrants who have died at sea trying to reach Europe more than doubled this year compared to the same period in 2020, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in mid-July.

In September, the IOM counted 1,369 migrants who had drowned in the Mediterranean since the beginning of the year.

The latest deaths come days after a “security campaign” by Libyan authorities in the suburbs of Tripoli, mostly targeting illegal migrants.