NGO: ‘Libyan Coast Guard’ attacks migrant boat, at least four dead

An NGO rescue group said today that the crew of a speedboat labelled “Libyan Coast Guard” had attacked a migrant boat packed with some 150 migrants, beating them with sticks and causing at least four to fall into the water and drown.

“The violent intervention of the Libyan Coast Guard caused a situation of mass panic on board the rubber boat in distress,” Sea Watch said in a statement. “One tube of the rubber boat collapsed, causing the majority of the 150 people to slip into the water.”

The Sea Watch crew were still conducting rescue operations, but had already recovered four bodies, Sea Watch spokesman Ruben Neugebauer told Reuters.

A spokesman for Libya’s naval forces in Tripoli said he had not heard about the incident.

Thousands of migrants and refugee are taking advantage of the unrest in Libya and using smugglers to make the perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, landing in Italy.

According to the International Organisation for Migration, around 145,381 migrants have arrived in Italy since the start of the year and 3,178 have died.