Over 110 feared dead in migrant shipwreck off Libya

“A vessel with around 140 people on board overturned on Wednesday just a few hours after setting off from Libya, throwing everyone into the water. Only 29 people survived,” UNHCR spokesperson Carlotta Sami told AFP. 

The Norwegian Siem Pilot was first on the scene, some 20 nautical miles off Libya, and rescued the survivors — all of whom were in poor health after spending hours in the water — as well as recovering 12 bodies from the water. Those pulled to safety were transferred to the island of Lampedusa by the Italian coast guard. At least two rescue operations were underway in the Mediterranean on Thursday, with close to 180 people pulled to safety according to an AFP photographer aboard the Topaz Responder, run by the Malta-based MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station). The rescue situation is often chaotic, with people confused, sick or exhausted after periods in crisis-hit Libya unable to specify how many people were on board their dinghies at the outset or what vessel pulled them from the water.