Some 100 Migrants Missing, 3 Babies Dead in Shipwreck Off Libyan Coast - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Around 100 migrants are feared to have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea after their boat capsized off the Libyan coast, the Repubblica newspaper reported.

According to the Repubblica newspaper, the incident took place east of the Libyan capital of Tripoli. The Libyan Coast Guard has so far managed to rescue 14 people, but the total number of people on board could have been as high as 120.

Libia: 100 migranti dispersi dopo un naufragio: 14 le persone salvate. In corso le ricerche. Un gommone si è rovesciato a est di Tripoli come ha confermato all'Ansa il portavoce della Marina libica, Amr Ghasem. Ma la notizia è incompleta perché le motovedette sono ancora in mare pic.twitter.com/bGMKU9yuQj

— Giank-deR 🇮🇹 (@GiancarloDeRisi) 29 июня 2018 г.

READ MORE: Macron Rejects Migration "Axis" With Italy, Germany, Austria at Talks With Conte

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), since the beginning of 2018, almost 41,000 people crossed the Mediterranean to reach Europe, while 960 people died en route. During the same period of 2017, about 85,000 people reached Europe by sea and 2,133 more died.

​European countries have been experiencing a severe migration crisis since 2015 due to the influx of thousands of migrants and refugees fleeing crises and poverty in the Middle East and North Africa.