11 dead, 61 illegal migrants rescued off Libyan coast

The Libyan Coast Guard on Tuesday rescued 61 illegal migrants and recovered 11 bodies off the coast of Garrabulli, some 55 km east of the capital Tripoli, reported Xinhua.

"We recovered 11 bodies, including a child. The total number of illegal migrants rescued today is 61 of different African, Asian and Arab nationalities," Esa al-Zarrug, a Coast Guard officer, told Xinhua.

Because of the insecurity and chaos in the country since the fall of late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, many migrants, mostly Africans, choose to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores from Libya.

A total of 4,335 illegal migrants have been rescued or intercepted by the Libyan authorities so far this year. Meanwhile, 310 illegal migrants have died and 227 others have gone missing on the central Mediterranean route off the Libyan coast, according to the International Organization for Migration.