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Spokesman: 90 Migrants Believed Dead Off Libyan Shore

by Associated Press

   CAIRO --

   The spokesman for the Libyan navy says more than 90 migrants are
   believed dead after their rickety boat was damaged shortly after
   leaving the Libyan coast.
   Ayoub Gassim said the coast guard has rescued 29 survivors, who said
   the plastic boat ripped and began filling with water about 26 miles (42
   kilometers) off the Libyan coast, in international waters.
   He said that a total of 126 migrants were in the boat, mostly African
   nationals. The migrants left Tajoura, in western Libya, before dawn
   Wednesday morning, and the coast guard received a call for help around
   3 p.m.
   The death toll for migrants in the Mediterranean has reached at least
   3,800 this year so far, making 2016 the deadliest year ever for
   migrants in the Mediterranean.