Islamabad: (TDI): A number of Pakistani migrants are feared to be among the dead after a vessel capsized near the Marsa Dela port, northwest of Zawiya city in Libya.
The boat was carrying around 65 passengers at the time of the accident, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Pakistan Embassy in Tripoli has “dispatched a team” to the local hospital for the identification of the deceased, the ministry added.
“The Embassy is working to gather more details about the affected Pakistanis.”
The ministry’s ‘Crisis Management Unit’ has been activated to monitor the situation, the statement added.
People seeking information about their loved ones can contact the embassy at 03052185882, +218913870577, and +218 91-6425435 (WhatsApp).
The ministry’s Crisis Management Unit can be accessed at 051-9207887.
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While there was no official statement about the death toll or the victims’ identities, Libyan media reported ten deaths.
A Libyan Red Crescent team recovered ten bodies after receiving a report from the Zawiya Security Directorate and the Coast Guard about the accident.
Human traffickers send migrants seeking entry into Europe to Libya, located around 300km from Italy, and then either transport them by boat to Europe or move to the West African coastal cities of Morocco and Mauritania.
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Last month, more than 40 Pakistanis were killed by African human traffickers on a boat off the coast of Morocco.
The boat was carrying eighty passengers. The identities of only thirteen Pakistanis killed in the incident were confirmed, while twenty-two survived the tragedy.
