UN: 17 presumed dead after migrant boat capsizes off Libya

BY SAMY MAGDY
Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — A U.N. official says a boat crowded with dozens of migrants capsized off Libya and at least 17 people are presumed dead. The accident happened Sunday night off the western town of Zuwara. The U.N. official says there were around 70 migrants on board the rubber boat and the Libyan coast guard managed to rescue 51 Egyptians. One body was recovered and at least 16 other migrants were missing and assumed to have drowned. It was the latest disaster in the Mediterranean Sea involving migrants seeking a better life in Europe. Libya has emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.