Many Migrants Feared Dead After Boat Sinks Off Libya

TRIPOLI, Libya — A wooden boat carrying as many as 200 migrants sank about a half-mile off the coast of Libya, the coast guard said Saturday, and most passengers were feared drowned.

The local coast guard said it commandeered fishing vessels for a rescue effort after being alerted to the sinking. The coast guard rescued 16 people, an official said.

Migrants have been streaming out of North Africa in rickety boats in rising numbers for years. More than 100,000 have reached Italy so far in 2014, the Italian government said. Libya is a major departure point for the journey, with human traffickers exploiting the political chaos and lack of security in the country after Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi was toppled in an uprising in 2011.

[link to www.nytimes.com]