Libyan navy recovers 11 bodies, rescues 283 migrants

Tripoli: The Libyan navy said it had recovered the bodies of 11 migrants and rescued 283 others in separate operations.

"A coast guard patrol recovered the bodies of 11 illegal migrants and rescued 83 others who were on a rubber boat about 8 km off Sabratha coast," Xinhua news agency quoted a navy spokesman as saying.

"The boat broke down when (the patrol) reached it," Qassem added.

He said the rescued migrants were of African nationalities and were taken to al-Zawiya, some 45 km west of the capital Tripoli. The spokesman also said that another coast guard patrol rescued 200 migrants, including 38 children, off the coast of Zliten city, some 150 km east of Tripoli.

"The migrants are of African and Asian nationalities, and were transferred to the Tripoli naval base," Qassem said.

According to official statistics, more than 4,000 migrants were rescued off Libya's coast in the first quarter of 2018.