A dozen migrants died on Tuesday and others were hospitalized in the city of Al-Khums, 115 km to the east of Tripoli, due to suffocation and crush after being locked inside a shipping container, in a new human tragedy in Libya. A local source said a human smuggler stuffed a shipping container with more than 50 African migrants in order to take them to a beach where they were expected to commence their sea journey to Europe. In the middle of the way, a security checkpoint stopped the container truck for search to discover the shocking incident. “As soon as the door of the container was opened, they started crushing each other in order to jump to safety, while other migrants were found dead due to suffocation,” the source said. Meanwhile, Libyan Red Crescent Al-Khums branch reported that 13 migrants were killed and 56 others were given first aid assistance after being thrown outside the city’s detention center late on Tuesday.

Source: Libya Observer February 23, 2017 09:45 UTC