ISLAMABAD: The foreign office spokesperson on Tuesday confirmed four Pakistanis have been killed in a shipwreck near the coast of eastern Libya, adding that more information is being collected about the affected nationals.
Pakistan’s mission in Tripoli reported that a vessel carrying foreign nationals sunk near the Harawa coast in Sirte City, the foreign office spokesperson said.
The statement said a Pakistan embassy team’s visit to Sirte City confirmed 11 bodies of migrants have been recovered from the shipwreck.
“Of these, 4 have been identified as Pakistani nationals based on their national documents,” the spokesperson said. “Two bodies remain unidentified.”
The statement identified Zahid Mehmood, Sameer Ali, Syed Ali Hussain and Asad Ali as the four victims of the shipwreck. Three of the victims hailed from Pakistan’s eastern city of Mandi Bahauddin while Mehmood belonged to Gujranwala, as per details shared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The Embassy in Tripoli is actively working to gather more information about the affected Pakistani nationals and is in contact with the local authorities,” the spokesperson said.
The statement said Pakistan’s foreign affairs ministry has activated its Crisis Management Unit to monitor the situation.
Each year, thousands of Pakistanis pay large sums for risky and illegal journeys to developed countries, hoping to find work and send money back to their families.
Libyan authorities recovered the bodies of at least 16 Pakistani nationals who had died in a shipwreck near the coast of Libya in February this year, while nearly 10 other Pakistani citizens were missing.
The boat had capsized near the port of Marsa Dela in the northwest of Zawiya city in the Arab country.
In 2023, hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel capsized and sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek coastal town of Pylos. It was one of the deadliest boat disasters ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea.
Pakistan has cracked down and arrested several human traffickers for arranging these dangerous, illegal sea journeys for Pakistani citizens.
