21 January

An estimated 170 migrants have gone missing in the Mediterranean in two separate shipwrecks.

The International Organization for Migration says the Italian navy rescued and hospitalized three people of Sudanese and other nationalities on Friday after spotting them drifting in the Mediterranean.

The survivors told officials that their rubber boat sank shortly after leaving Libya for Europe. 117 others on board are still unaccounted for.

In a separate incident on Thursday, a boat carrying African migrants and refugees heading for Europe sank off Spain in the Mediterranean. One person was rescued but 53 others remain missing.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, released a statement on Saturday calling for support for refugees and migrants.

He says such tragedies cannot be allowed to continue and that no effort should be spared in saving lives at sea. The IOM says the death toll from similar incidents involving dinghies in the Mediterranean has already reached 200 since the start of this year.

-NHK