Bodies of 16 migrants wash ashore off Libyan coast

TRIPOLI - The bodies of 16 migrants washed ashore off the coast of Libya's western city of Zuwara, according to the Libyan Red Crescent.

Al-Khamis al-Bosaifi, spokesman for the Libyan Red Crescent, said the bodies were recovered on Saturday, and apparently were identified to be the bodies of sub-Saharan men.

Al-Bosaifi added that the bodies were decomposed and the cause behind their drowning remains unknown.

On Wednesday Libyan coast guards announced that over 90 immigrants are believed to be still missing after their rubber boat, carrying 129 immigrants, sank off the coast of Garabulli, 50 km east of the capital Tripoli.

Libya is a preferred point of departure for immigrants who want to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, fleeing the state of chaos and insecurity in their countries.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that 3,740 immigrants died in 2016 while attempting to cross the Mediterranean.

"On the Central Mediterranean route between Libya and Italy the likelihood of dying is even higher, at one death for every 47 arrivals," revealed the UNHCR.