Boat carrying over 120 people capsizes; at least 74 died

CAIRO — The U.N.’s migration agency said that at least 74 migrants drowned after their Europe-bound ship capsized off the coast of Libya, in the latest in a series of at least eight shipwrecks in the Central Mediterranean since last month. When it capsized off the coast of the Libyan port of al-Khums, it has 120 migrants including women and children. Libyan coast guard and fishermen can save only 47 people from 120. So far 31 bodies were retrieved as the search for the remaining victims continued.

On Tuesday, 13 African migrants including three women and one child had drowned in a similar shipwreck off the Libyan coast. It had noticed a recent surge in the number of departures from the Libyan shores, with over 780 arrivals in Italy since the beginning of October. More than 11,000 migrants had been intercepted and returned to Libya, where they face the risk of human rights violations and detention.