Eight Bangladeshis died in a boat sinking off the coast of Libya last week, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Rafiqul Alam. The boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya on December 18, he said.
Rafiqul Alam gave this information at the weekly briefing of the Foreign Ministry today (Tuesday).
He said, it is learnt from various sources that a boat carrying 121 migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya on December 18. The Libyan Navy rescued 82 people alive from the scene and recovered the bodies of at least 15. After the incident, officials of our embassy in Tripoli, Libya quickly contacted several sources and a volunteer from the local Red Crescent Society confirmed to them that eight Bangladeshis were among the dead. In addition, 32 Bangladeshis were among those rescued.
The spokesman said the survivors are currently being held in Zawiya city, 80 kilometers west of Tripoli, and the bodies have been kept at Zawiya hospital.
It is also feared that more Bangladeshi nationals may be among those missing in the boat sinking.
He said that our embassy in Epply is working to confirm the identities of the Bangladeshis killed in the accident. Embassy officials are trying to meet the survivors after obtaining permission from the Libyan Foreign Ministry.