German group: Migrants die amid Libya ‘coast guard’ attack



BERLIN (AP) – At least four people died off the coast of Libya and more were missing after a rubber boat full of around 150 migrants was attacked Friday by a group aboard a speedboat labeled as belonging to Libya’s coast guard, a German aid group said.

Dozens of people were tipped into the water in the panic that followed the attack, and there were fears that the death toll could rise into double digits.

The Sea-Watch group said it had been called by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center to the site 14 kilometers (9 miles) from the Libyan coast. As its crew was handing out life-vests, the speedboat approached and its occupants started hitting migrants with sticks, causing panic, spokesman Ruben Neugebauer said.

One tube of the rubber boat collapsed, and most of the estimated 150 people on board the boat ended up in the water.

Sea-Watch, which said the assailants prevented its crew from handing out more life-vests and medical aid, said that 120 people were brought aboard one of its boats. Though four bodies were recovered, Neugebauer said there were a few other corpses that couldn’t be retrieved and that the death toll could rise into double digits.

He said that the coast guard ship “had several people on board” and had been seen in the area repeatedly.

According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 3,600 people have died or gone missing while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe this year. The risky crossing from North Africa, Libya in particular, has been the main route used by migrants in recent months.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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