Four migrants survive five days at sea after capsize off Libya, IOM and sources say

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BENGHAZI, April 20 – Four migrants have been rescued from the Mediterranean more than five days after the boat supposed to carry them to Europe capsized off Libya, three Libyan sources and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Monday.

However, 10 migrants were confirmed to have died in the disaster off Tobruk in eastern Libya, and 31 were still missing. Six bodies were recovered on Saturday after washing ashore.

The IOM said search efforts were continuing. The migrants are from Egypt and Sudan, the security sources said.

Libya is a transit route for migrants, many of them from sub-Saharan Africa, risking their lives to flee to Europe across desert and sea in the hope of escaping conflict and poverty.

Its 100 municipalities now harbour well over 900,000 migrants, according to U.N. data collected at the end of last year. REUTERS