Some 100 refugees missing as inflatable boat sinks off Libyan shoreline

‘Nearly 100 asylum seekers have been reported missing following the sinking of their inflatable boat off the Libyan coastline.
The boat sinking occurred off the Libyan capital of Tripoli’s western suburb of Gargaresh on Thursday, said Libya’s coastguard spokesman Ayoub Qassem. He said 23 refugees had been rescued but 97 others, among them women and children, had gone missing.
“What happened is that the base of the boat got wrecked and the boat sank,” Qassem said.
Libya remains a major gateway for asylum seekers attempting to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea, with more than 450,000 people having made the crossing over the past three years.’
Read more: Some 100 refugees missing as inflatable boat sinks off Libyan shoreline