Woman Dies During Journey From Libya To Europe

One woman was confirmed dead while aid groups said Sunday around 1,000 migrants were rescued off the Libyan coast adding to the number of people journeying from Libya to Europe (especially Italy).

Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) and SOS Mediterranee said the dead woman was found on one of several ships carrying would-be refugees.

Two rescue ships picked up the migrants as they sought to make the perilous journey to Italy, three days after more than 250 Africans were feared drowned off Libya after a rescue boat found five corpses close to two sinking rubber dinghies.

Migrant departures from Libya to Italy by sea chartered by people traffickers, have accelerated in recent months from already-record levels, with patrol boats rescuing more than 6,000 people in the past week alone.

SO FAR ON MIGRATION LIBYA TO ITALY 2017

Prior to Thursday’s discovery, the UN estimated at least 440 migrants had died trying to make the crossing to Italy since the start of 2017. Around half a million migrants, most from Africa, ignored the dangers of moving from Libya to Italy by sea between late 2013 and the end of last year.

Italy’s interior ministry forecasts its overstretched facilities for asylum seekers will have to accommodate about another 250,000 this year, despite Rome beefing up cooperation with Libya, its former colony, to try to tackle the problem.