The International Organization for Migration reported on Wednesday that at least 42 migrants were missing and presumed to be dead after a rubber-boat capsized near the coast of Libya.

Seven survivors were rescued by the Libyan authorities after six days of drifting at sea. The vessel carrying 49 people sank north-northwest off the coast of Libya near the Al Buri offshore facility.

IOM reported that the migrants are from Sudan, Nigeria Cameroon and Somalia.

Since the 2011 fall of Muammar Gadhafi, the dictator who was supported by NATO in his uprising against the regime, Libya has become an important transit point for migrants trying to reach Europe via the Mediterranean.

IOM reported that the number of migrants drowning in the central Mediterranean has already exceeded 1,000 this year. The incident this week increased this toll "even more". IOM data show that in 2024 there will be 2,452 deaths of this type across the entire Mediterranean.

In a statement, it stated that "this tragic incident, which comes just weeks after another deadly incident off Surman and Lampedusa underscores the persisting dangers facing migrants and refugees along Central Mediterranean Route."

A group of 61 migrants' bodies was found on the coast of Tripoli in mid-October. IOM reported that at least 50 people died in September after a boat carrying 75 Sudanese refugee caught fire off the coast of Libya.

At a U.N. summit in Geneva on Tuesday, Britain, Spain and Sierra Leone among others urged Libya to close the detention centers where, according to rights groups, migrants and refugees are tortured, abused, and even killed. (Reporting and editing by Alex Richardson and William Maclean; Reporting by Jana Choukeir, Ahmed Elumami)

(source: Reuters)