240 migrants feared dead in latest Mediterranean tragedy

The International Organization for Migration said Friday that as many as 240 migrants are feared dead after two vessels reportedly capsized off the Libyan coast on Thursday.

IOM spokesman Joel Millman warned that while "little updated information" was available, a Spanish aid group had notified the Geneva-based organization that it had retrieved five bodies floating near two capsized boasts, each of which can hold as many as 150 people.

According to Spanish media reports, Spanish NGO "Proactiva Open Arms", which works to rescue refugees, said its staff found two empty and half-sunken rubber dinghies, about 15 miles away from the coast of Libya.

Laura Lanuza, the NGO's spokeswoman, said that she believed the two dinghies were full of people before the tragedy.

According to her, these kinds of dinghies usually have around 120-140 people on board.

If verified, this would the largest tragedy in 2017. So far this year, 559 men, women and children have already lost their lives attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach European shores.

Latest IOM figures show that there has been a spike in migrant maritime arrivals this week, with as many as 5,580 migrants and refugees reaching Europe by sea between March 20 and March 23.

This brings the number of individuals who have arrived by sea to Italy, Greece and Spain to 25,170, far short of the 163,273 entries recorded in the same period last year.