A boat with 35 people capsized off the Libyan coast, the UN Migration Agency said.
The incident took place on Friday near the western Libyan city of Sabrata, a major starting point for mostly Africans traveling dangerously across the Mediterranean, the International Organization for Migration said.
IOM said six bodies were pulled from the water, while another 29 disappeared, presumed dead. It was not immediately clear what caused the wooden boat to capsize.
The tragedy is the latest to involve people leaving North Africa in search of a better life in Europe. In the past week alone, at least 53 have been reported dead or presumed dead near Libya, according to the IOM.
“Special search and rescue capacity and a safe descent mechanism are urgently needed to prevent further deaths and suffering,” IOM said.
Investigators commissioned by the UN’s high-level human rights body have found evidence of possible crimes against humanity committed in Libya against people detained in government detention centers and at the hands of human traffickers.
Earlier this month, more than 90 people in a crowded boat drowned in the Mediterranean days after leaving Libya, according to the Doctors Without Borders relief group.
People regularly try to cross the Mediterranean from Libya in a desperate attempt to reach European shores. The country is emerging as a dominant transit point for those fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.
Human traffickers have taken advantage of the chaos in Libya in recent years, transporting people across the long borders of the six-nation oil-rich country. After that, their “customers” usually pack up in poorly equipped dinghies and embark on risky sea voyages.
At least 476 people died on the central Mediterranean route between January 1st and April 11th, according to the IOM.
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