ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Tuesday that Libyan authorities have recovered bodies of at least 16 Pakistani nationals who had died in a shipwreck off the Libyan coast, while around 10 Pakistani citizens were still missing.
The boat capsized near the port of Marsa Dela in the northwest of Zawiya city in Libya, according to the Pakistani Foreign Office. It prompted the Pakistani government to activate a crisis management cell to confirm if any Pakistanis were on board.
A team from the Pakistani embassy in Tripoli visited the Zawiya city on Tuesday and met local officials and hospital authorities, and the Foreign Office, citing unconfirmed reports, said the boat was carrying 63 Pakistani nationals.
“So far, 16 dead bodies have been recovered and their Pakistani nationalities established on the basis of their passports,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
“There are 37 survivors, including 1 in hospital and 33 in police custody. Reportedly, around 10 Pakistanis are missing in the accident. Three of the survivors are in Tripoli and being looked after by the [Pakistani] embassy.”
It said the Pakistani embassy in Tripoli was in the process of gathering further information from local authorities.
The latest tragedy comes weeks after at least 13 Pakistanis died when a boat carrying 86 migrants to Europe capsized near the coast of Morocco on Jan. 16.
Each year, thousands of Pakistanis pay traffickers large sums for risky and illegal journeys to Europe, hoping to find work and send money back to their families. Many also take these perilous routes to escape conflicts and religious persecution.
Following the tragedy, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for strict action against people involved in human trafficking, saying that no negligence would be tolerated in this regard. He expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and assured that the government was undertaking comprehensive measures to combat the crime.
“The prime minister has requested a report on the incident from the relevant authorities,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
Pakistan has intensified its crackdown on human trafficking rings facilitating dangerous sea journeys for migrants, as many of its nationals frequently drown on overcrowded boats in the Mediterranean, the world’s deadliest migrant route.
In 2023, 262 Pakistanis were among the hundreds who died when a vessel sank off Greece’s Pylos. Recently, five Pakistanis perished in a shipwreck near Gavdos on Dec. 14.
Bodies of 16 Pakistanis recovered after shipwreck off Libya, Foreign Office says
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Bodies of 16 Pakistanis recovered after shipwreck off Libya, Foreign Office says
- The boat carrying over 60 Pakistanis capsized near port of Marsa Dela in northwest of Libya’s Zawiya city
- Libyan authorities have rescued 37 people, while around 10 Pakistanis are still missing after the incident
Gunmen kill 3 Revolutionary Guards in Iranian province bordering Pakistan
- Iranian state media says attackers ambushed patrol in Sistan and Baluchistan province before fleeing
- Border region with Pakistan and Afghanistan has long seen militant and smuggling-related violence
TEHRAN: Gunmen killed three members of the Revolutionary Guard in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan near the Pakistan border, state media reported.
The Guard members were ambushed while patrolling near the city of Lar in a mountainous area about 1,125 kilometers (700 miles) southeast of the capital Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported.
IRNA did not report whether any Guard members were injured in the attack.
The Revolutionary Guard is pursing the attackers it calls “terrorists,” but they remain at large. No group has taken responsibility for the attack, IRNA reported.
The province bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, one of the least developed in Iran, has been the site of occasional deadly clashes involving militant groups, armed drug smugglers and Iranian security forces.
In August, Iran’s security forces killed 13 militants in three separate operations in the province a week after the group killed five policemen who were on patrol.
