Libyan Red Crescent Recovers Over 70 Bodies of Migrants on Country’s Coast

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said that Libyan Red Crescent has recovered over 70 bodies of migrants who were attempting to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Libyan Red Crescent has recovered over 70 bodies of migrants who were attempting to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said in a press release Tuesday.

"The Libyan Red Crescent has recovered the bodies of 74 people who washed ashore yesterday (20 February), near Zawiya on Libya’s northern coast," the press release read.

According to the press release, the deceased were on a boat, trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe as a torn rubber rowboat was found nearby.

Libyan Red Crescent volunteers placed the bodies in body bags to transfer them to a local hospital, the press release added.

The IFRC urged for "collective international action" to avert such "tragic and entirely preventable" deaths in the future.

Over 270 migrants are believed to have drowned in the Mediterranean in the first weeks of 2017, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), while the year of 2016 became the deadliest year recorded with more than 5,000 deaths at sea.

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