At least 3 killed in boat explosion off Libya's west coast

TRIPOLI, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- At least three Libyans were killed in a boat explosion on Sunday evening off the coast of Zawiya, about 60 km west of the Libyan capital Tripoli, Libyan newspaper Al-Marsad reported.

Apart from the three deceased Libyan youths, identified as Mohamed Ben Shtwan, Anwar Al-Majdoub, and Nasser Sultan, there are other casualties involved in the incident, whose identities have not been determined, Al-Marsad reported.

The report did not specify the exact time or the cause of the explosion.

So far, there have been no official statements released regarding the incident.

Libya has been a major transit point for migrants trying to reach Europe since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi. Smuggling networks have thrived amid political division and insecurity, exposing migrants to harsh conditions in detention centres and repeated Mediterranean shipwrecks and ship fires.

The country remains split between the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity and an eastern administration allied with Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army. Enditem