ROME (AP) — An aid group said Saturday it had recovered the bodies of 11 migrants off the coast of Libya and transferred them to an Italian coast guard vessel off the coast of Lampedusa island, where thousands of people try to arrive from North Africa.
Aid group Doctors Without Borders said its rescue ship Geo Barents recovered the bodies after a search operation that lasted more than nine hours, after being alerted by German aid organization Sea-Watch, which also rescues migrants at sea. .
The German group said it was not clear whether the migrants were victims of a previous shipwreck, adding that they had tried to contact the Libyan coast guard to recover the bodies but had received no response.
During Saturday’s mission, the Sea-Watch crew also discovered another body.
“As we cannot determine the reason behind this tragedy, we know that people will continue to follow dangerous routes in a desperate attempt to reach safety, and Europe must find safe and legal paths for them,” said Doctors Without Borders, also known as like MSF. wrote in a post on X.
The MSF ship was ordered to transport the other 165 people on board, who were rescued during operations in the Mediterranean, to the port of Genoa, in the north of the country. The group complained that the decision would significantly delay assistance to migrants.
Thousands of migrants from North African countries try to reach Europe using Libya as a starting point, while facing a dangerous journey across the Mediterranean to escape war and poverty.
The Central Mediterranean route remains the most dangerous crossing in the world. In 2023, more than 3,000 people disappeared on this route, according to the International Organization for Migration.
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