Nearly 250 Missing in Mediterranean Shipwrecks

The U.N. refugee agency says nearly 250 people are missing and feared dead following two shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea in recent days.

UNHCR says one of its partner agencies, the International Medical Corps, has reported a shipwreck off the Libyan coast on Sunday from which 163 people are missing and feared dead. The U.N. agency says one woman and six men were rescued by the Libyan Coast Guard.

Separately, the agency says some 82 people are missing and feared dead after a rubber dinghy carrying 132 people sank after several hours of sailing. Some 50 survivors have been rescued and taken to Pozzallo, Sicily.

Overall, UNHCR said Tuesday that more than 1,300 people have disappeared and are believed to have died while crossing the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to Italy this year.