© AFP Photo/ Mauro Seminara

On 6 May, a boat carrying around 600 people fleeing Libya broke up shortly after departing Tripoli. The full death toll is unknown to UNHCR but a Somali diplomat in Tripoli has reported that sixteen bodies have been recovered, including two babies. Most of those onboard are believed to have been from sub-Saharan Africa.

Less than two per cent of those fleeing Libya have crossed the Mediterranean to reach European countries. But the second weekend of May saw an increase in arrivals, with five boats arriving on Lampedusa, carrying close to 2,400 people. Most are sub-Saharan Africans, many of them women and children. All five boats needed rescuing by the Italian coastguard and maritime police, with one boat running aground close to the Lampedusa shore. Three bodies have washed ashore, thought to have been passengers from the boat that ran aground.

The number of people who have arrived in Italy and Malta from Libya now stands at 12,360 (11,230 to Italy and 1,130 to Malta). Prior to the 6 May disaster, family members and survivors told UNHCR of boats running into problems, and as many as 800 people are unaccounted for.

On 8 April, UNHCR appealed to European states to urgently put in place more reliable and effective mechanisms for rescue at sea on the Mediterranean. UNHCR also appeals to ship masters for heightened vigilance and continued adherence to the longstanding maritime obligation of aiding people in distress. People fleeing Libya are often doing so in un-seaworthy and overloaded vessels. UNHCR urges states, commercial shipping companies and others present in the Mediterranean to consider that all boats leaving Libya for Europe are likely to require assistance.