The Foreign Office on Monday said Pakistan’s embassy in Tripoli had confirmed that a vessel carrying approximately 65 passengers had capsized near the port of Marsa Dela, Libya.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the embassy had dispatched a team to Zawiya hospital to assist the local authorities in identification of the deceased. “The embassy is also trying to ascertain further details of the Pakistani affectees,” it added.
It is unclear how many Pakistanis were onboard the boat and whether or not they were illegal migrants, as in similar incidents elsewhere.
Noting that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had activated its Crisis Management Unit to monitor the situation, the statement also shared the contact details of officials for anyone seeking an update into the incident. In Tripoli, concerned parties can contact 03052185882 (WhatsApp); +218 913870577 (cellphone); and +218 916425435 (WhatsApp). In Pakistan, more information can be sought from the Crisis Management Unit; 051-9207887 (phone); cmu1@mofa.gov.pk (email).
Over the past few months, several incidents of boat capsizing have occurred, leaving dozens of Pakistanis dead. Last month, a boat carrying 80 passengers capsized near Morocco, with authorities subsequently confirming that at least 13 Pakistanis had died. Additionally, local media reported that African human traffickers on the boat murdered over 40 Pakistanis.
Last year in December, around 40 Pakistanis died in boat capsize incidents off the coast of Greece.
The government has vowed to crack down on illegal and unsafe practices of foreign travel. Around 50 officials of the Federal Investigation Agency have been dismissed from service over their alleged collusion with human smugglers. Authorities have also ramped up screening at airports across the country, offloading any travelers who fit the profile of people traveling to an intermediary country before trying to proceed to a European destination illegally.