© MARINA MILITARE/AFP/FileRome (AFP) - Up to 700 migrants are feared to have drowned in deadly shipwrecks off the coast of Libya this week, the UN's refugee agency said Sunday, citing survivor testimony. "The situation is chaotic, we cannot be sure of the numbers, but we fear up to 700 people may have drowned in three shipwrecks this week," one of which was believed to have claimed over 500 lives, UNHCR spokesman Federico Fossi told AFP. About 500 migrants were declared lost after the fishing boat they were on capsized on Thursday morning off Libya, with survivors saying at least 40 of the dead were children, including newborn babies. Some 100 people were missing after a boat sank Wednesday and 45 bodies were recovered from a wreck that happened Friday, with more feared lost. "We'll never know the exact number, we'll never know their identity, but survivors tell that over 500 human beings died" in Thursday's shipwreck, Carlotta Sami, UNHCR spokeswoman, said on Twitter. Brought to safety at the Italian ports of Taranto and Pozzallo, survivors told the UNHCR and Save the Children how their boat had sunk after a high-seas drama which saw one woman decapitated. Giovanna Di Benedetto, Save the Children's spokesperson in Sicily, told AFP it was impossible to verify the numbers involved but survivors spoke of around 1,100 people setting out from Sabratha in Libya on Wednesday in two fishing boats and a dinghy. "The first boat, carrying some 500 people, was reportedly towing the second, which was carrying another 500.

Topics:  we   marina militare/afp/filerome afp     up   federico fossi   carlotta sami   twitter   brought   taranto   giovanna di benedetto   sicily   sabratha   the sudanese    now   watch   superbug   afp    afp   unhcr   italian   pozzallo   save   children   sudanese   shipwrecks   migrants   dead   boat   people   survivors   told   libya   carrying   feared   decapitated   numbers   drowned   rope   lost   fishing   thursday   sank   woman   
BING NEWS:
  • Rwanda bill
    Human rights watchdog condemns scheme as Sunak comments on latest crossing deaths - Human rights groups have condemned the government’s plan to send asylum seeker to Rwanda after Parliament passes the ...
    04/23/2024 - 1:39 am | View Link
  • Tent compound rises in southern Gaza as Israel prepares for Rafah offensive
    Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press appear to show a new compound of tents being built near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip as the Israeli military continues to signal it plans an ...
    04/23/2024 - 1:36 am | View Link
  • 5 migrants have died while crossing the English Channel, hours after UK approved deportation bill
    French authorities say five people, including a child, died while trying to cross the English Channel, just hours after the British government approved a migrant bill to deport some of those who ...
    04/22/2024 - 9:31 pm | View Link
  • Baltimore bridge collapse: Third body recovered from water as Biden meets with victims’ families
    Two people have so far been rescued from the freezing Baltimore waters after a huge container ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing it to collapse, in the early hours of Tuesday ...
    04/8/2024 - 2:56 am | View Link
  • 'About 170 migrants dead' in Mediterranean shipwrecks
    The IOM says 4,216 migrants have crossed to Europe by sea in the first 16 days of 2019 - more than double the number arriving in the same period last year. Is it asylum seekers, migrants or refugees?
    01/18/2019 - 11:00 am | View Link
  • More

 

Welcome to Wopular!

Welcome to Wopular

Wopular is an online newspaper rack, giving you a summary view of the top headlines from the top news sites.

Senh Duong (Founder)
Wopular, MWB, RottenTomatoes

Subscribe to Wopular's RSS Fan Wopular on Facebook Follow Wopular on Twitter Follow Wopular on Google Plus

MoviesWithButter : Our Sister Site

More Business News