Gujrat: four Pakistani immigrants have died in a boat accident near the coast of Harawa in Libya, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FO) said Tuesday.
The accident was the last of a series of mishaps in recent years when hundreds of Pakistani were killed in the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean while trying to reach Europe from Africa.
More recently, at least 100 Pakistani died in tragic accidents in boat last December and January after drifting in open seas for days while trying to enter Europe.
The FO said the Pakistani embassy in the capital of Libya, Tripoli, informed that a boat that transported the sunk foreign citizens near the coast of Harawa in the city of the east of Sirte.
Fo says that the victims belonged to Gujranwala, Gujrat regions; efforts to bring bodies
The Embassy “confirmed the recovery of 11 bodies of migrants”, of which “four have been identified as Pakistani citizens.”
Two bodies remain unidentified, the FO added, without offering any detail about when the accident occurred.
The statement added that the ‘Crisis Management Unit’ of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been activated to monitor the situation.
People can ask about the accident by calling 051-9207887 or sending an email to cmu1@mofa.gov.pk.
The four victims belonged to the regions of the center of Gujranwala and Gujrat, an illegal immigration seedbed.
The deceased has been identified as Zahid Ali by Mohal Sandhuan, Gujranwala; Sameer Ali by Sheikhupur near Gujrat; Syed Ali Hussain de Dhal, Mandi Bahauddin; and Asif Ali de Shafqatabad, Mandi Bahauddin.
FIA sources said Sunrise That, according to the initial investigation, the four men left the country from the Airports de Lahore, fine, Karachi and Quetta in recent years.
Family sources said the victims had been waiting for months for their turn to travel to Europe.
The FO was in contact with the Libyan authorities to repatriate the bodies of the victims, FIA sources added. However, it can take a week or more.
Previously, Libya’s Rescue Center said he had received a call of anguish from a boat that transported 67 people drifting to the Tunisian coast.
In a statement, the center said it coordinated with the guards of the Italian coast and Tunisian, and added that the ship had entered Tunisian waters and was in a very critical condition.
Almost a month ago, six bodies were recovered after 40 immigrants disappeared when a boat sank into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Lampedusa Island.
In early January, several Pakistani immigrants were killed by people traffickers in the open sea after leaving Mauritania.
Posted in Dawn, April 16, 2025
