Over 80 migrants missing from boat that capsized after leaving Libya: UN

Cairo: More than 80 migrants went missing after a boat that departed a Libyan coastal town capsized in the central Mediterranean, the UN migration agency said Tuesday. The bodies of at least two of them have been recovered.

About 120 people were on board when the boat departed from the town of Tajoura in northwestern Libya on Sunday. The vessel later overturned after taking on water during harsh weather conditions, according to the International Organisation for Migration, or IOM. A merchant vessel and a tugboat managed to save 32 people and the Italian coast guard transferred them to the southern Italian island of Lampedusa. Two bodies were also recovered, authorities said.

Libya has been a main transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. The country plunged into chaos after a 2011 uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

The Sunday incident comes around a week after the Italian coast guard found 19 bodies and rescued 58 people when intercepting a dinghy filled with migrants about 80 nautical miles from Lampedusa.

The rescue took place with the Italian coast guard operating in the Libyan search and rescue zone during rough weather conditions. The tiny island of Lampedusa is the main entry point to Europe for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa.