UN says around 20 feared dead in Mediterranean tragedy

GENEVA (AA) – Around 20 men, women and children are feared to have died in the Mediterranean, the UN Refugee Agency said on Tuesday.

The UNHCR said although 500 people were rescued in an operation at sea between Libya and Italy over the weekend, the latest deaths brought to 95 the number of fatalities seen in the past few weeks.

Information gathered by the UN in Italy suggested the survivors were taken from four rubber boats on Sunday by an NGO and a commercial vessel.

The fatalities are thought to have been from Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Bangladesh, the UN said in a statement.

Seven bodies were recovered.

“With this latest incident, it is estimated more than 1,350 people are now missing or dead in the Mediterranean Sea,” the UNHCR added.