Migrant boat with more than 50 aboard capsizes off Libyan coast

By Staff Reuters

Posted September 28, 2019 3:29 pm

Updated September 28, 2019 3:30 pm

1 min read

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In this file photo taken on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019, the sun pierces the clouds over international waters north of Libya in the Mediterranean Sea. (AP Photo/Renata Brito)

TRIPOLI — A boat with more than 50 people on board has capsized off the Libyan coast, the United Nations said on Saturday, the latest accident involving migrants trying to reach Europe.

The exact location of the accident remains unclear, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Twitter. A spokesman for Libya’s coastguard said a patrol boat had been dispatched, without providing any further information.

Libya is one of the main departure points for African migrants fleeing poverty and war to reach Italy by boat, but many are intercepted at sea and brought back by the Libyan coast guard, with the approval of the European Union.