Fifty migrants feared lost in Mediterranean, 10 survive after boat capsizes, security sources say

BENGHAZI: At least ‌50 migrants, including women and children, were feared lost at sea, while 10 survived, after their ​wooden boat capsized on Tuesday in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of Libya, two security sources told Reuters.

The survivors were rescued near El-Bardaa Island, some 70 km (43 miles) west of Tobruk, which is near the ‌border with ‌Egypt.

Libya has become ​a ‌transit ⁠route for ​migrants fleeing conflict ⁠and poverty to Europe via dangerous routes across the desert and over the Mediterranean since the toppling of Muammar Qaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.

The security sources said the boat was ⁠carrying about 60 migrants. According to ‌the survivors, ‌the boat set sail early ​in the morning.