<span style="color: #000000;">More than 500 Bangladeshis have been detained off the coast of the Mediterranean early this week. The Bangladeshis were preparing to cross into Europe from the east coast of Tripoli in Libya, reports the Voice Of America (VoA). Confirming the news, Bangladeshi Ambassador to Libya Major General SM Shamim Uz Zaman said that initially, the Libyan police said that they had detained over 500 Bangladeshis but the Bangladesh embassy was able to contact 240 people.<br />''<br />''Earlier, in 2016 more than 600 migrants were rescued from the sea near Libya. This is the first time since 2016 that such a large number of people have been detained from Libya. <br />''<br />''The UNHCR data shows that more than 2000 migrants arrived in Italy in 2022 including the latest boat crossing the Mediterranean sea. In 2021, more than 66,000  migrants crossed the Mediterranean to reach Italy. The UN agency IOM estimates that more than 1,500 people died or went missing in the Central Mediterranean in 2021 ' with more than 500 so far in 2022.</span>