74 mysterious bodies washed up on Libyan shore

There are fears that the 74 were punished or killed en route from Libya to Italy.

The bodies of 74 people washed up on the Libyan coast on February 20.

The bodies of at least 74 people, believed to be migrants, washed ashore on the Libyan coast on February 20, the Guardian reported.

This is the latest tragedy at sea among refugees pouring into Europe hoping to escape war and poverty at home.

The Libyan Red Crescent said the bodies were found on the shore of the city of Zawiya. Aid workers worked for six hours to collect the bodies. Many more bodies are believed to still be in the surrounding waters.

This is the latest tragedy at sea among refugees pouring into Europe hoping to escape war and poverty at home.

This is the latest tragedy at sea among refugees pouring into Europe hoping to escape war and poverty at home.

A spokesman for the Red Crescent, Mohammed al-Misrati, said a wrecked rubber boat was found nearby. Mohammed said more migrants could have drowned in the accident as the boats usually carry around 120 people.

The Zawiya coast guard posted a video showing a migrant boat with its engine missing. Joel Millman, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said an IOM staff member reported that "smugglers came and took the engine off the boat, leaving it adrift."

“Not only is this a horrific incident with multiple deaths, but it is also something we haven't seen much of, possibly a retribution or murder of migrants,” Millman said.

Bodies were seen piled up on the beach, covered in black and white body bags, the latest in a year of record deaths along the smuggling route from Libya to the southern coast of Italy, according to photographs.

Last week, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency said 4,579 migrants died trying to enter the continent in 2016, 1,700 more than in 2015. Europe is tightening its borders and restricting the flow of refugees, despite a growing humanitarian crisis in Africa and the Middle East.

According to the Guardian, the actual death toll could be even higher because not all drownings are recorded./.

According to Dan Viet