‘Deadly sea crossings’: 41 migrants drown in the Mediterranean

Shipwreck was latest along central Mediterranean route where 118 migrants died this year and over 17,000 since 2014.

At least 41 people drowned when their boat capsized in the Central Mediterranean on Saturday, the latest shipwreck involving migrants and refugees fleeing conflict-stricken Libya and seeking a better life in Europe. The United Nations migration and refugee agencies, IOM and UNHCR, said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the drowned people were among at least 120 migrants on a dinghy that left Libya on February 18. According to testimonies gathered by the UNHCR, the dinghy started taking in water after about 15 hours at sea, and eight people died before a merchant vessel came to help.