Dozens of bodies float ashore in Libya after migrant boats sink

Migrants are rescued by the crew of the rescue boat Geo Barents on April 24, 2023, in the international waters off the coast of Libya. (AP)
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Updated 25 April 2023
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Dozens of bodies float ashore in Libya after migrant boats sink

  • Coast guard officer says migrants were from Pakistan, Syria, Tunisia, and Egypt
  • International Organization for Migration says 441 migrants drowned in early 2023

TRIPOLI: At least 57 bodies have been washed ashore after two migrant boats sank in the Mediterranean off different towns in western Libya, a coast guard officer and an aid worker said on Tuesday. 

One survivor, Bassam Mahmoud from Egypt, said there were about 80 passengers on one of the boats that set off for Europe at around 2 a.m. on Tuesday. 

There was an argument as the boat was sinking but the man in charge refused to stop, he said. 

"We kept fighting until someone caught up with us. The scene was horrific and some died (in the water) in front of me," he told Reuters. 

Eleven bodies, including that of a child, were recovered off Qarabulli in eastern Tripoli, said coast guard officer Fathi al-Zayani. The migrants were from Pakistan, Syria, Tunisia, and Egypt, he said. 

A Red Crescent aid worker in Sabratha in western Tripoli said they had recovered 46 bodies in the past six days from the beach and they were all "illegal migrants" from one boat. 

Pictures were posted online by the Sabratha Red Crescent agency showing bodies in black bags being placed at the back of pick-up trucks by the aid workers wearing face-masks and gloves. 

The aid worker said more bodies were expected to be washed up in coming days. 

The International Organization for Migration said this month 441 migrants and refugees drowned in early 2023 while attempting to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe, the most deaths in the past six years over a three-month period. 

A decade after overthrowing Muammar Gddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011, Libya became the main departure point for mostly African migrants trying to cross to Europe. 

But Tunisia has since taken over from Libya as the most popular departure point. 

Italy has rescued 47 boats carrying around 1,600 migrants in the central Mediterranean sea in the last two days and brought them ashore to the island of Lampedusa. 

On Monday, Italy offered Tunisia the prospect of money in exchange for economic and political reforms as EU foreign ministers discussed how to respond to growing instability in the African country. 


Pressure builds for answers over Swiss bar fire after victims identified

Updated 1 min 16 sec ago
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Pressure builds for answers over Swiss bar fire after victims identified

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All 40 victims of New Year fire now identified

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Prosecutors say ‘fountain candles’ likely cause of blaze

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Most of victims of bar fire were teenagers, youngest 14

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Couple who ran the bar under criminal investigation

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland: Pressure was building for answers on Monday from the investigation into a New Year bar fire in a Swiss ski resort that killed 40 people, after authorities said they had now identified all the victims, most of whom were teenagers.
The Alpine getaway of Crans-Montana in the canton of Valais united in mourning on Sunday with condolences coming in from leaders ranging from Pope Leo to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Prosecutors said the fire that spread rapidly in the ‌early hours of January ‌1 was likely caused by sparkling candles igniting the ‌ceiling ⁠of ​the ‌bar’s basement.

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
Authorities are investigating the two people who ran the bar on suspicion of crimes including homicide by negligence. On Sunday, police said circumstances did not currently merit them being put under arrest and they did not see a flight risk.
On Monday morning, Swiss newspaper Blick said anger over the case was growing.
“Why are the couple running the bar free?” the paper said on its front page, pasted over ⁠a photo of mourners and media gathered around the huge pile of flowers left in front of the “Le ‌Constellation” bar.
The youngest victims of the blaze, which ‍also injured well over 100 people, ‍were only 14 years old, and the dead were from all around Europe, ‍including several from France and Italy. Swiss authorities have not named the victims.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said in a social media post that “in civilized Switzerland, the prison gates will have to open for quite a few people.”
Salvini said there had been a ​failure to ensure the bar’s basement was safe, questioning the emergency systems and whether there had been enough inspections.

SILENT PROCESSION
Aika Chappaz, a local ⁠resident who took part in a silent procession through the town on Sunday, said justice must be done for the sake of future generations.
“It’s crucial that such a tragedy never happens again. And the investigation must be thorough, because it’s so unbelievable,” she said.
Tages-Anzeiger, another leading Swiss newspaper, said questions must be answered about the age checks at the bar, the soundproofing material used in the basement and the standards governing use of the so-called fountain candles.
One of the bar’s two operators, Jacques Moretti, told Swiss media that Le Constellation had been checked three times in 10 years and that everything was done according to the rules.
Valais authorities say investigators were checking ‌if the bar had undergone its annual building inspections, but that the town had not raised concerns or reported defects to the canton.