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By Tom Westcott and Reem Tombokti.
Tripoli, 9 July 2013:
A baby has been born on an overcrowded dinghy left drifting off the . . .[restrict]Libyan coast after its engine failed.
Three of the migrants died while the craft was adrift, survivors told members of the Libyan Coastguard who rescued them. The bodies of the dead, they said, were cast overboard.
A total of 103 survivors were rescued, including 15 women and three children, at around 9pm last night Libyan Navy spokesman, Ayob Amar Ghasem told the Libya Herald.
According to identity documents and papers found on the boat, Ghasem said, all those aboard were from Somalia.
One of the migrants in poor health was taken to hospital. The others have been handed over to the illegal immigration department, where they are being held in custody.
During the summer months, there is an increase of migrants, often from sub-Saharan Africa, trying to cross the Mediterranean in search of a better life. Tragically, many are lost at sea, having set sail in unsafe and overcrowded vessels.
The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, has recorded 40 migrant deaths amongst those crossing the Mediterranean this year alone. It is thought that many others may have been lost at sea without trace.
Hundreds more migrants have already been rescued by the Libyan Coastguard this year, Ghasem said. [/restrict]
