At least 28 bodies have been recovered along Libyan coasts in recent days. They are all believed to be the bodies of migrants who drowned during an attempted crossing to Europe.
On 18 April, Libya’s Emergency Medicine and Support Center (EMSC), which is part of the country’s health ministry, said that 17 bodies were recovered from the shores of Zuwara. The majority of the bodies have since been buried according to local protocols, the organization explained; only two of the bodies have not yet had confirmed burials. One of the bodies was identified as a Bangladeshi national, whose family collected his remains in Tripoli.
On the same day, the Libyan Red Crescent said it had discovered at least six bodies of people believed to be migrants on the beaches around the eastern city of Tubruq. It later confirmed that a seventh body was found on 19 April.
On 20 April, a further four bodies were found by the organization in the Tubruq area. The Libyan Red Crescent said that the bodies could be from a shipwrecked boat that is reported to have left Libya on 15 April. At least 32 people were reported missing from the craft, including women and children. The predominant nationalities of those on board are reported to have been Somali, Egyptian and Sudanese. IOM says four survivors were rescued after more than 5 days at sea.