According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the boat overturned in the perishingly cold waters of the central Mediterranean Sea, north of the coastal town of Zuwara last Friday.
It is just the latest deadly incident involving vulnerable people on the move who are frequently mistreated and trafficked by smuggling gangs that have flourished in Libya since the overthrow of President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
IOM said that the Libyan authorities rescued two Nigerian women from last Friday’s shipwreck; one said that her husband had drowned while the other reported that both her babies had died.
The survivors explained that the vessel had been carrying migrants and refugees from several African countries. It had set off from Zawiya at about 11pm on Thursday and began taking on water six hours later, before capsizing.
It is not yet known where the travellers were heading for, but many migrant and refugee boats leaving Libya set sail for the Italian island of Lampedusa, which is around 350 kilometres (220 miles) away from Zawiya. The open rubber dinghies they often sail in are totally unsuitable for such a journey, UN aid teams have often warned.
At least 375 people have been reported dead or missing in January alone in the central Mediterranean, according to IOM, missing migrants database. The UN agency warned that this is just the latest shipwreck to have happened amid severe winter weather, with many more tragedies feared unrecorded.
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