1st LD Writethru: 2 dead, over 70 people missing after migrant boat capsizes in Libyan waters: report

TRIPOLI, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Two lifeless bodies were recovered and over 70 people were missing after a wooden vessel carrying 105 people capsized in waters under Libyan control, said Mediterranea Saving Humans, an Italian organization, on Sunday in a statement.

The boat had set sail from Tajoura in northwestern Libya to flee the country, the statement added.

The shipwreck occurred Saturday afternoon, 14 nautical miles northeast of oil platforms in Bouri, north of the Libyan coast in the Mediterranean Sea. Two merchant ships participated in the rescue operation, with one recovering 32 survivors and two lifeless bodies.

The survivors and bodies were brought to Lampedusa, southern Italy on Sunday morning, while others remain missing at sea, according to the statement.

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