Up to 400 migrants died in boat capsize off Libya: survivors

April 15, 2015

Rome, Apr 15: Up to 400 illegal migrants trying to reach Europe died after their boat capsized off the Libyan coast on Sunday, said survivors who were saved and brought to Italy.

The Italian coastguard had previously said that they managed to rescue 144 of the people on the capsized vessel, while nine bodies were also recovered.

Quoting survivors, the International Organization for Migration and the charity Save the Children said between 144 and 150 survivors arrived on Tuesday morning at Reggio Calabria, located on Italy's southern tip.

"There were 400 victims in this shipwreck, which occurred 24 hours after (their vessel) left the Libyan coast," Save the Children said in a statement, citing survivors.

"There were several young males, probably minors, among the victims," the international NGO said, adding that there were also children among the survivors.

IOM spokesman in Italy Flavio Di Giacomo told AFP his organisation has also interviewed several survivors, who said there were between 500 and 550 people on board when the ship sank.

"We are continuing to investigate in order to understand how the shipwreck happened," Di Giacomo said.

According to initial findings, the boat may have capsized after passengers started moving when they saw the Italian rescue team.

On Tuesday, the coastguard said its teams had rescued nearly 8,000 people at sea since Friday.

Recent good weather in the Mediterranean has prompted a surge in the number of migrants attempting to reach Italy aboard boats.

An increasingly violent and chaotic situation in Libya, a key jumping off point for migrants, has also helped prompt the huge hike in the number of asylum seekers trying to make it to Europe.

According to Italian authorities more than 15,000 migrants have arrived in Italy so far in 2015. There were 15,000 in April alone last year and an average of 25,000 each month between June and September.

People smuggling remains a lucrative business for traffickers, with refugees and migrants rescued in the Mediterranean in February saying they paid between USD 500-1,000 for their crossing in boats that are often no more than rubber dinghies.

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Pak jail authorities say Imran Khan is alive and healthy after ‘murder’ rumours spark panic

News Network

November 27,2025

Authorities at Pakistan’s high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday dismissed speculation about the condition of imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, rejecting rumours that he had been moved out of the facility or was in danger. Officials said Khan was in “good health” and described the viral death claims as “baseless.”

“There is no truth to reports about his transfer from Adiala Jail,” the Rawalpindi prison administration said in a statement, according to Geo News. “He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.”

Amid swirling rumours on social media, Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urged the federal government to issue an official clarification and demanded that authorities allow his family to meet him immediately, Dawn reported.

The frenzy began after Khan’s three sisters called for an impartial probe into what they described as a “brutal” police assault on them and other PTI supporters outside Adiala Jail last week. Soon after, several social media handles circulated unverified claims alleging that Khan had been “killed” inside the prison.

The rumours intensified when a handle named “Afghanistan Times” claimed that “credible sources” had confirmed Khan’s “murder” and that his body had been moved out of the jail — allegations that have not been verified by any credible agency.

Imran Khan, PTI’s patron-in-chief, has been lodged in the Rawalpindi prison since August 2023 in multiple cases. For over a month, an undeclared restriction has prevented family members and senior PTI leaders from meeting him. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has reportedly been denied access despite making seven attempts.

In a letter to Punjab Police Chief Usman Anwar, Khan’s sisters — Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan, and Dr. Uzma Khan — said they were “peacefully protesting” outside the jail when police allegedly launched an unprovoked assault after streetlights were switched off.

“At 71, I was seized by my hair, thrown to the ground and dragged across the road,” Noreen Niazi said, alleging that other women present were also slapped and manhandled.

Adiala Jail officials reiterated that speculation over Imran Khan’s health was unfounded and insisted that his well-being was being ensured, Geo News reported.

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