Thirty-two Bangladeshi migrants were rescued on Tuesday, 16 December, after their boat capsized off the coast of Al-Haniya, a town in northeastern Libya, according to the Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar branch of Libya’s Anti-Illegal Immigration Agency.
All those on board were safely retrieved and transferred to the Al-Bayda detention and reception Centre, where they received first aid and medical attention for minor injuries.
Authorities attributed the incident to adverse weather conditions and reiterated warnings about the dangers of irregular sea migration, describing such journeys as life-threatening, particularly amid unstable weather and poor navigation. Libya remains a key transit hub for irregular migrants seeking to reach Europe, a situation driven by its long Mediterranean coastline and persistent instability since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, which has enabled smuggling networks to operate with relative impunity.
