92 migrants rescued in international waters off Libya

92 migrants were rescued off the Libyan coast while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, SOS Méditerranée charity said on Sunday (Apr. 2nd).

The group included 9 women and around 40 unaccompanied minors. They were without life jackets in an overcrowded and almost completely deflated dinghy.

Some of them had suffered fuel burns and one sustained an orthopaedic injury.

Libya, from where they departed became a preferred route for migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and South Asia after the assassination of Moamer Kadhafi and the fall of his regime.

U.N.-backed human rights experts said, days before the rescue operation, that there is evidence for crimes against migrants and Libyans.

It also faulted the European Union for sending support to Libyan forces.

The charity’s rescue ship, The Ocean Viking, is carrying the migrants to the port of Salerno located over 800 km away from the rescue site.

The Central Mediterranean route has been one of the most active and dangerous routes for people crossing to Europe by sea according to the International Organization for Migration.

The UN agency estimates that in 2022, 1,417 migrants disappeared there.