The “Alarm Phone” organization reported on Saturday that it had lost contact with seventy migrants believed to have gone missing while aboard a boat that left western Libya four days ago in an attempt to reach Europe.
“They left Kum (West) and called the alarm phone several times,” said the NGO that operates the emergency telephone connection for those in trouble at sea.
“When we lost contact, they were in the search and rescue area of Malta, 11 miles (20 km) off Italian waters, but no rescue or arrival was reported. Authorities are quiet,” he said on Twitter.
“How can 70 people go missing at sea a few kilometers from the ground? What happened to them? Why did the Maltese and Italian authorities first refuse to rescue them and then provide information about their fate?” The alarm sounded.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) deported 89 migrants aboard a ship to Tripoli on Saturday, killing two and leaving 40 missing. All of these settlers made “dangerous voyages” at sea in two boats, one powered by air and the other by wood.
It is not possible to determine whether the two organizations refer to the same immigrant group or to two different groups.
Libya is an important transportation destination for the thousands of migrants who wish to reach Europe each year via the Italian coast, some 300 kilometers off the coast of Libya.
At least 1,369 people have died in the Mediterranean since trying to reach Europe since the beginning of the year, according to Dole, released by the International Organization for Migration in early September.
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