The FO said in a statement that a team from the Pakistani Embassy in Tripoli visited Zawiya city and gathered information after meeting local officials and the Zawiya hospital.

“According to unconfirmed reports, there were 63 Pakistanis on the boat and so far 16 dead bodies have been recovered and their Pakistani nationalities established on the basis of their passports,” the FO said.

The statement added, “There are 37 survivors, including one in hospital and 33 in police custody. Reportedly, around 10 Pakistanis are missing in the accident. Three of the survivors are in Tripoli and being looked after by the Embassy.”

The list of names shared by the FO contained details of the bodies recovered so far.

The statement said, “The Embassy in Tripoli is in the process of gathering further information and maintaining contact with the local authorities.”

Also last month, a boat carrying 80 passengers capsized near Morocco. While the identities of at least 13 Pakistanis killed in the incident were confirmed, over 40 citizens were reportedly murdered by African human traffickers on the boat and only 22 survived the tragedy.

A day earlier, Pakistan’s embassy in Libya has sought details of Pakistani victims as a vessel carrying around 65 passengers capsized near the Marsa Dela port, the Foreign Office said on Monday.

 “Our Embassy in Tripoli has informed that a vessel carrying approximately 65 passengers capsized near the port of Marsa Dela, northwest of Zawiya city, Libya,” the FO said in a statement.

The statement added that the Pakistan Embassy in Tripoli had immediately dispatched a team to “Zawiya hospital to assist the local authorities in [the] identification of the deceased”.

 “The embassy is also trying to ascertain further details of the Pakistani affectees,” it said.