Pakistanis feared among dead in another boat tragedy off Libya – Pakistan

KARACHI: A number of Pakistani migrants are feared to be among the dead after a vessel capsized near the Marsa Dela port, northwest of Zawiya city in Libya.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the boat was carrying around 65 passengers at the time of the accident.

The Pakistan Emb­assy in Tripoli has “dispatc­hed a team” to the local hospital for the identification of the deceased, the ministry added.

“The Embassy is also trying to ascertain further details of the Pakistani affectees.”

FO says Tripoli embassy seeking details; IOM ‘alarmed’ by discovery of migrant bodies in mass graves

The statement added that the ministry’s ‘Crisis Manag­ement Unit’ has been activated to monitor the situation.

People seeking information about their loved ones have been asked to contact the embassy on these numbers: 03052185882, +218913870577, and +218 91-6425435 (WhatsApp)

The ministry’s Crisis Management Unit can be contacted at 051-9207887.

While there was no official statement about the death toll or the victims’ identities, Libyan media reported 10 deaths.

A Libyan Red Crescent team recovered 10 bodies after receiving a report from the Zawiya Security Directorate and the Coast Guard about the accident, Libyan Observer reported on Friday while quoting the humanitarian organisation.

Libya, a key transit country for migrants attempting to reach Europe, has struggled to recover from the chaos that followed the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime dictator Moamer Gaddafi.

It remains split bet­ween the UN-recognised government and a rival authority in the east, bac­ked by military stron­g­man Khalifa Haftar, with smugglers and human traffickers taking advantage of the instability.

According to Pakistani authorities, human traffickers send migrants seeking entry into Europe to Libya, located around 300 kilometres from Italy, and then either transport them by boat to Europe or move to the West African coastal cities of Morocco and Mauritania.

Last month, over 40 Pakis­tanis were murdered by Afr­ican human traffickers on a boat off the coast of Morocco.

The boat was carrying 80 passengers. The identities of only 13 Pakistanis killed in the incident were confirmed, while 22 survived the tragedy.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Gov­ernor Faisal Karim Kundi contacted the Pakis­tani embassy on Monday following reports of the accident, APP reported.

He expressed deep sorrow over the incident and direc­ted his staff to coordinate with the embassy for assistance.

Kundi expressed deep sorrow over the incident, which has claimed the lives of 65 passengers, many of whom are reportedly Pakistani citizens.

Migrants bodies

Meanwhile, the United Nat­ions’ International Orga­n­i­sation for Migration (IOM) on Monday said it was “deeply alarmed” by the dozens of migrant bodies found in mass graves in southeastern Libya, AFP reported.

On Sunday, Libyan authorities said they found the bodies of 28 sub-Saharan migrants in the southeastern district of Kufra, near a site where they were allegedly detained and tortured.

The UN agency expressed “shock and concern at the discovery of two mass graves in Libya containing the bodies of dozens of migrants, some with gunshot wounds”.

The IOM said “at least 30” bodies were found in a mass grave in Kufra, whereas “as many as 70” others may have been buried there.

The statement also said 19 bodies were discovered in Jakharrah, some 400 kilometres south of the coastal city of Benghazi, though it did not say when.

The circumstances of the migrants’ “death and nationalities” remain unknown, it said.

The graves were “discovered following a police raid, during which hundreds of migrants were rescued from traffickers”, it added.

Photos posted by Libyan authorities Sunday on social media showed emaciated migrants with scars on their faces, limbs and backs.

The authorities had said three people were arrested, “one Libyan and two foreigners”.

With input from AFP

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2025