Bodies of 11 migrants found off western Libyan coast

Libyan navy on Sunday recovered bodies of 11 migrants and rescued 83 others off the coast of the western city of Sabratha, according to navy spokesman.

"A coast guard patrol of two boats recovered bodies of 11 illegal immigrants and rescued 83 others, who were on a rubber boat about 5 miles off Sabratha coast," spokesman Ayob Qassem told Xinhua.

"The boat was broken down when (the patrol) reached it," Qassem added.

He said the rescued migrants were all of different African nationalities and were taken to the oil port of al-Zawiya city, some 45 km west of the capital Tripoli, at 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT), confirming that they were transferred afterwards to a reception center in the city.

Following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Gaddafi's regime, Libya became a major departure point for illegal immigrants wanting to cross the Mediterranean towards Europe, due to the state of the insecurity and chaos in the country.

Improved weather conditions increase the flow of migrant boats from Libya towards Europe, particularly off western coasts.

According to official statistics, the immigrants rescued off Libyan coast during the first quarter of 2018 is more than 4,000.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)