239 refugees drown after 2 ships sink off Libya: IOM

ANKARA

At least 239 refugees drowned after two ships sank off the Libyan coast, Joel Millman, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), told Anadolu Agency on Thursday.

The two vessels had reportedly been carrying hundreds of refugees when they both capsized in the Mediterranean Sea while en route from Libya to Italy.

According to Millman, some 4,220 refugees bound for Europe have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea since the current refugee crisis began.

*Reporting by Murat Karadag and Fatih Erel; Writing by Ahmet Sait Akcay