LAMPEDUSA , Italy, June 3 (UPI) -- The bodies of at least 100 refugees were recovered near Zuwara, Libya, after their ship to Europe capsized in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Libyan coast guard discovered the boat Thursday.
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Rescuers search for victims of capsized boats on the Mediterranean Sea. The bodies of over 100 refugees, from one or more capsized boats, washed up on the Libyan coast Friday. Photo courtesy of Sea Watch
Another 85 bodies were found washed up on Libyan beaches, and Eunavfor, the European union's naval force, reported seeing 15 to 20 bodies in waters 40 miles off the Libyan coast. Some may have been from the sinking of ships in the past several days.
Over 4,000 refugees were rescued Thursday in 22 separate operations off the Libyan coast by the Italian coast guard, which said it was aware of only one capsized ship. The activist group Sea Watch said two of 16 boats, departing from Libya on Thursday, capsized, and the Libyan coast guard reported two other capsized boats.
Libya is a common embarkation point for smugglers overloading unseaworthy boats with refugees. It is not unusual for the boats to break down or sink before reaching Europe.
News of the most recent capsized boat came after another ship sunk near Crete; four bodies were recovered and over 300 were rescued.
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Over 40,000 refugees have reached Italy by sea from North Africa this year. Over 150,000 accomplished the trip in 2015, a figure overshadowed by the large number of people migrating overland to Greece and Turkey, and then to other European countries, from the Middle East.
