UN says 73 migrants presumed dead in vessel mishap off Libya

By JAMEY KEATEN and SAMY MAGDY
Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations migration agency says at least 73 Europe-bound migrants are missing and presumed dead after a shipwreck off Libya’s coast. The U.N. International Organization for Migration said Wednesday the tragedy involving some 80 migrants packed into an inflatable rubber vessel took place Tuesday and that Libyan authorities have retrieved at least 11 bodies. It says seven migrants survived the disaster and made it to Libyan shores in “extremely dire conditions.” They were taken to a hospital. The mishap was the latest tragedy in the central Mediterranean Sea, a key route for migrants. At least 130 migrants have died on that route this year, the IOM said.