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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
Asharq Al-Awsat

28 Migrants Found Dead on Libyan Coast

Migrants are seen on a capsizing boat before a rescue operation by Italian navy ships "Bettica" and "Bergamini" off the coast of Libya in this handout picture released by the Italian Marina Militare on May 25, 2016. Marina Militare/Handout via REUTERS

The bodies of 28 migrants have washed up on Libya's western coast after their boat sunk, a security official said Sunday, the latest tragedy on the world's deadliest migration route.

"Libyan Red Crescent teams recovered 28 bodies of dead migrants and found three survivors at two different sites on the beaches of Al-Alous," some 90 kilometres (55 miles) from Tripoli, the source said.

"The bodies' advanced state of decomposition indicates that the shipwreck happened several days ago," he said, adding the toll could rise in the coming hours, AFP reported.

Images published by Libyan media outlets showed corpses lined up along the shore then placed in body bags.

The latest tragedy comes just days after 160 migrants died within a week in similar incidents, bringing the total number of lives lost this year to 1,500, according to the International Organization for Migration.

The IOM says more than 30,000 migrants have been intercepted in the same period and returned to Libya.

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