Over 60 migrants die in Mediterranean shipwreck

Rome, Jan 8 (IANS/AKI) A total of 64 migrants drowned when their inflatable dinghy sank off the Libyan coast at the weekend, UN agency International Organisation for Migration said on Monday.

"Sixty-four migrants lost their life in the shipwreck occurred last Saturday," IOM Italy spokesman Flavio Di Giacomo tweeted.

Rescuers have recovered the bodies of eight migrants, he said, adding 86 people survived the disaster.

According to witness statements gathered by IOM staff in Catania, the rubber dinghy was carrying 150 migrants, Di Giacomo said.

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