Volunteers working with naval forces and coast guards affiliated with the Libyan National Army rescued seven survivors during recovery operations near the coastal city of Tobruk, close to Libya’s border with Egypt, the Red Crescent said in a statement.

The group said the vessel had been stranded at sea for more than a week before rescue teams reached it. Security officials said they expected the bodies of the nine missing migrants to wash ashore in the coming days.Images released by the Red Crescent showed volunteers placing bodies in black plastic bags before loading them onto pickup trucks for transport.

Libya remains a major transit route for migrants, many from sub-Saharan Africa, attempting to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean in overcrowded and often unsafe boats after fleeing poverty, violence and political instability.

Shipwrecks and deaths along the central Mediterranean route remain frequent, with human rights groups and international agencies repeatedly warning about the risks posed by traffickers operating from Libya’s coast.

On Tuesday, Libya’s attorney general said Tripoli Criminal Court sentenced four members of a criminal gang based in the western city of Zuwara to prison terms of up to 22 years for human trafficking, kidnapping for ransom and torture.

In a separate case, the Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered the arrest of another trafficking group accused of sending migrants from Tobruk on a deteriorating vessel that later capsized, causing the deaths of 38 Sudanese, Egyptian and Ethiopian nationals, according to the attorney general.

Authorities said the gang had arranged the sea crossing despite the unsafe condition of the boat, adding to growing scrutiny of trafficking networks operating along Libya’s eastern and western coasts.

Libya has struggled for years to control migrant smuggling routes amid political fragmentation and weak law enforcement, with rival administrations and armed groups competing for influence across the country.

The Tripoli Criminal Court convicted the four defendants in absentia, handing down prison terms ranging from 12 to 22 years, according to a statement published by the attorney general’s office on Facebook. The office did not disclose the identities of those convicted.

Prosecutors said the group was involved in smuggling undocumented migrants from the western coastal city of Zuwara, one of Libya’s main departure points for migrants attempting to reach Europe across the Mediterranean.

Authorities said the gang also abducted migrants and extorted ransom payments from their families, sending relatives videos showing victims being tortured in order to force payment.

Libya has become a major transit route for migrants and asylum seekers fleeing war, persecution and poverty in Africa and the Middle East since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi and plunged the country into prolonged instability.

Migrants often travel through dangerous desert crossings before attempting sea journeys to Europe in overcrowded and unsafe boats operated by smuggling networks.Two weeks ago, at least 17 bodies believed to be migrants were recovered from the shores of Zuwara by a local medical service center, highlighting the continuing risks faced by those attempting the crossing.

Separately, Libya’s Public Prosecutor’s Office on Monday ordered the arrest of another criminal group accused of sending migrants from the eastern city of Tobruk across the Mediterranean on an unsafe and dilapidated vessel that later capsized.

Authorities said the incident resulted in the deaths of 38 migrants from Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia.International scrutiny over Libya’s treatment of migrants has intensified in recent years.

In November, several countries including the United Kingdom, Spain, Norway and Sierra Leone urged Libya during a United Nations meeting in Geneva to close detention centers where rights groups say migrants and refugees have been tortured, abused and in some cases killed.