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The missing are presumed dead after only three migrants were rescued and one body recovered, the Libyan Coast Guard announced.
A boat carrying 23 migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya on Sunday, in which 19 missing people are believed to be dead, authorities said.
The Libyan Coast Guard said migrants from Egypt and Syria had left the eastern city of Tobruk on the morning of the tragedy. Three migrants were rescued and taken to hospital. A body was recovered by authorities and search efforts are still ongoing, authorities said.
The weekend tragedy is the latest amid attempts to cross the Mediterranean to reach European soil. Libya has become a major transit point for migrants fleeing poverty and war in Africa and the Middle East, hoping for a better life in Europe.
Organized trafficking networks have taken advantage of the chaos in Libya to traffic migrants from the oil-rich country, which borders six other countries in the region.
Immigrants are often packed in rubber boats for dangerous sea voyages.
At least 192 migrants have drowned on maritime traffic routes in 2022 alone, says the International Organization for Migration.
In 2021, at least 32,425 migrants were rescued at sea and returned to Libya, while at least 1,553 are believed to have drowned, according to the agency.
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