124 migrants rescued off Libyan coast

The Libyan Coast Guard announced on Friday the rescue of 124 migrants off the western Libyan coast, reported Xinhua.

The migrants were saved near Garabulli, approximately 60 kilometers east of Tripoli after their boat broke down at sea. The Coast Guard did not specify the date of the rescue but confirmed that the migrants, who are of various nationalities, were taken to a port in Tripoli and handed over to the Illegal Migration Control Department.

Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, ongoing instability in Libya has led many migrants, predominantly from Africa, to attempt perilous crossings of the Mediterranean Sea in hopes of reaching Europe.

The International Organization for Migration reported that 12,584 migrants have been intercepted off the Libyan coast and returned to Libya so far this year.