IOM said the rescued immigrants include 474 women and 364 minors, adding that 115 illegal immigrants have died and 180 gone missing on the central Mediterranean route in 2020.

“A total of 9,225 illegal immigrants were rescued and returned to Libya in 2019, while 270 people died and 992 were missing,’’ the IOM said.

The fall of the Muammar Gaddafi’s government in 2011 had created a state of insecurity and chaos in Libya.

This made the country, a preferred point of departure for illegal immigrants to cross the Mediterranean Sea towards European shores.

Immigrant shelters in Libya are overcrowded with immigrants, despite repeated international calls to close them. (NAN)