Spanish aid group Proactiva Open Arms found five migrants dead off the Libyan coast. Two inflatable boats sank and as many as 200 migrants could be missing. The five bodies were of Africans aged 16 through 25.
An increasing number of Africans are leaving by boat from the Libyan coastline to find a home in Europe. But they face extraordinary odds in the Mediterranean Sea due to embarking on boats not fit for sea travel.
As mentioned in The New York Times, after land routes to Greece were closed by the European Union and Turkey, many migrants choose to travel by sea on a journey with much more risk. Increasing numbers are taken to Italy after being rescued at sea, but many are not rescued and do not complete the journey alive.