Key points:
- Vessel sank near Marsa Dela port
- Death toll not confirmed yet
- Pakistani authorities activate crisis management unit
ISLAMABAD: A vessel carrying at least 65 passengers has capsized off the coast of Libya.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Monday that its embassy in Libya was seeking details of “Pakistani affectees”.
The vessel reportedly sank near the Marsa Dela port, a statement issued by the ministry said.
“Our Embassy in Tripoli has informed that a vessel carrying approximately 65 passengers capsized near the port of Marsa Dela, North West of Zawiya city, Libya,” the statement read.
It added that the Pakistan Embassy in Tripoli had immediately dispatched a team to “Zawiya hospital to assist the local authorities in [the] identification of the deceased”.
Our Embassy in Tripoli has informed that a vessel carrying approximately 65 passengers capsized near the port of Marsa Dela, North West of Zawiya city, Libya.” – Pakistan’s Foreign Office
Similar tragedies
The development follows a similar incident last month in which a boat carrying 80 passengers capsized near Morocco.
While the identities of at least 13 Pakistanis killed in the incident were confirmed, over 40 Pakistanis were reportedly murdered by African human traffickers on the boat and only 22 survived the tragedy.
“The embassy is also trying to ascertain further details of the Pakistani affectees,” the statement said.
It is unclear if the passengers onboard the vessel were migrants.
Crisis Management Unit
“The Crisis Management Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mofa) has been activated to monitor the situation,” the FO said, providing the following contact details for any query.
In December, several Pakistanis died in a boat capsizing incident in Greece.
As per the estimate, more than 80 Pakistanis drowned in the accident, 36 of whom were rescued. The remaining have been presumed dead.
Crackdown
According to Dawn, over 30 Federal Investigation Agency officers have been booked and dismissed from service over their alleged collusion with human smugglers in illegally sending Pakistanis abroad.
In June 2023, hundreds of migrants drowned when an overcrowded vessel capsized and sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek coastal town of Pylos. It was one of the deadliest boat disasters ever in the Mediterranean Sea and there were at least 209 Pakistanis on the boat.
