More than 200 feared dead off the coast of Libya

Bodies of drowned refugees are found washed ashore in Libya’s Zawiya on 22 February 2017 [Hazem Turkia – Anadolu Agency ]

More than 200 people are believed to be dead after two boats capsized off the coast of Libya, reports Spanish aid organisation Proactiva Open Arms, who pulled five bodies out of the Mediterranean.

After locating both boats the group said there were no survivors.

Read: 8 dead, 7 missing as Turkish vessel sinks near Libya

“It is a harsh reality check of the suffering here that is invisible in Europe,” said the group on their Facebook page. If the victims were European, says the post, the story would fill the headlines.

More than 20,000 migrants have arrived in Italy so far in 2017 with around 559 missing or dead.

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