Victims believed to be Bangladeshis
At least 23 bodies, believed to be of Bangladeshis, were buried in Libya in the past eight days until Monday after washing up on the shores of Brega, a coastal city in Libya.
Two other critically injured individuals, also believed to be Bangladeshis, are receiving treatment at a local hospital, Bangladesh Ambassador to Libya Abul Hasnat Mohammad Khairul Bashar said in a video message.
He stated that the local Red Crescent representatives and the Libyan authorities informed the embassy that the victims had attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe by boat. Their identities, however, could not be confirmed.
鈥楾he authorities did not find any document with the bodies. But, based on their physical features, they assumed that all of them were from Bangladesh,鈥� the ambassador said.
鈥楾hose responsible for handling the bodies for burial stated that the victims appeared to be Bangladeshis,鈥� he added.
According to Bashar, a boat carrying 56 migrants bound for Italy departed from Libya鈥檚 coast on January 25. On January 28, local authorities recovered seven bodies. Over the next three days, until January 31, they recovered a total of 23 bodies from the surrounding areas.
He suspected that the boat might have met the fatal accident on January 25, just hours after departure.
The bodies were buried, while the two critically injured survivors were admitted to a local hospital managed by the army or police.
However, the identities of the victims remain unknown, and the fate of the remaining passengers is still uncertain.
Ambassador Bashar noted that the incident occurred in eastern Libya, which is governed by a rival administration, whereas the Bangladeshi embassy is located in Tripoli, under the UN-backed government.
鈥榃e are ready to visit the site and have applied for permission,鈥� he said.
As of Monday, the local authorities did not grant the embassy鈥檚 application. But, they have appointed a local agent to gather information about the victims.
Local officials feared that the number of deaths might rise as there was no information about the remaining passengers of the ill-fated boat.
According to the International Organization for Migration鈥檚 Displacement Tracking Matrix, a total of 7,25,304 migrants from 44 countries were recorded across 100 Libyan municipalities between March and May 2024.
Bangladeshis represent the seventh-largest migrant group in Libya, making up three per cent of the total migrant population.
Most Bangladeshi migrants in Libya work as construction labourers, cleaners, or waiters.