Hey Eric, I did some googling to see if I could track down news reports on the boat and corpses the smuggler mentioned. I couldn’t find anything that matched this exact incident, but I did find a UNHCR report with some striking similarities:

According to the UNHCR, on July 8th, 2014, a capsized boat with eight bodies nearby was recovered by the Libyan Coast Guard. The dead were identified as a Syrian mother with two young children, 3 Eritrean nationals, and six other Africans.

The report continues as follows:

The boat, which reportedly capsized off the coast of Tripoli, had a capacity of about 200 passengers and may have been carrying many more people, Edwards said. Search and rescue operations are ongoing and the fate of others who may have been aboard is unknown.

To my mind, this report bears some striking similarities to the Ghost Boat: Particularly the details on the approximate number of passengers, and the fact that there were Eritrean refugees on board. Given that the boat was recovered from waters off Tripoli, it’s likely that it had left port there, or from Zuwarah, and was en route to Europe when tragedy struck.

Do we have any contacts at the UNHCR or Libyan Coast Guard who might be able to assist?