19 bodies of Egyptian migrants found in Libya desert

Libyan aid workers recovered the bodies of 19 migrants believed to be Egyptians in Libya’s eastern desert, a Red Crescent spokesman said on Sunday.

The migrants appeared to have been smuggled into Libya by foot and have perished due to high temperatures and hunger, said Khaled al-Raqi, a Red Crescent spokesman in the east Libyan city of Tobruk.

They were found on Saturday more than 400 km (250 miles) south of Tobruk, in the Jaghboub desert, Raqi said. Seven of the migrants were identified from papers or identity cards, and the rest were thought to be Egyptian from their appearance, he said.

The seven came from Assiuyt and Minya, areas on the River Nile south of Cairo, and from Kafr el Sheikh, in the Nile Delta north of Cairo.

Libyan television station Libya Alaan broadcast footage of Libyan Red Crescent workers offloading bodies from the back of a truck into black body bags.

Egyptian migrants have tried to cross to Europe from the African coast, particularly from Libya, though boats have also increasingly departed from Egypt. Most Libyan smugglers sending migrants by sea toward Europe do so from western Libya.

Source:english.alarabiya.net