This morning, a group of twelve people—nine Catalans and three Spaniards—were trapped in a hotel in Tripoli, Libya, due to the ongoing militia conflict in the country. Those affected were part of a trade mission organized by the Tarragona Chamber of Commerce who arrived in the country on Monday, and the hostilities in the area meant they had to spend a few hours in the hotel basement on Wednesday for security reasons.

At least 130 people died on Thursday in a shipwreck on the route between Libya and Italy, in the central Mediterranean, when the inflatable boat in which they were trying to reach Europe sank. For 48 hours, and in the middle of a storm with waves up to six meters high, an NGO had followed the boat and reported its position to the European authorities, but no official maritime rescue service went to their rescue. The humanitarian ship Ocean Viking of French organisation SOS Mediterranée, immediately rushed to the rescue along with three merchant ships, but it was too late and they were only able to recover 13 bodies. There is no news of another skiff with 42 people on board that issued its last message yesterday at noon.