Around 100 people are thought to have drowned from a migrant boat off Libya’s western coast after their boat capsized off the coast of this North African country, a coastguard official said on Friday.
The coastguard picked up 14 survivors from the boat just east of the capital, Tripoli, the official said.
Separately, the coastguard said it had intercepted 200 migrants from two other migrant boats east of Tripoli.
The Libyans managed to rescue 14 migrants from the group, The Associated Press quoted coast guard's spokesman Ayoub Gassim as saying. He couldn't provide definitive numbers for the migrants who were on board or their nationalities.
The boat capsized east of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and the 14 were rescued early on Friday, he added. It was unclear when they embarked on the perilous trip for Europe or from where they had set off.
Libya has emerged as one of the main departure points for migrants trying to cross to Europe by sea, usually in flimsy inflatable boats provided by smugglers that often get punctured or break down.
Some make it to international waters where they hope to be picked up by international vessels, but increasing numbers are intercepted by Libya’s EU-backed coastguard and returned to Libya.
Meanwhile, the UN's migration and refugee agencies praised a European Union deal about taking in migrants from across the Mediterranean region, while cautioning that details need to be specified and pointing out that the involvement of the African Union is "indispensable."
Leonard Doyle, spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, said it was "very pleased at the solidarity and consensus" that emerged from an EU summit in Brussels, in particular with the "front line states" like Italy.
Doyle said he believed that most of the "disembarkation centers" planned by the EU would be in Europe, though he said it was up to the EU to determine which countries would host them.
Charlie Yaxley, a spokesman for refugee agency UNHCR, said it was "still awaiting the legal analysis" of the summit's outcome, but would welcome greater collaboration on asylum.
He noted that recently, for the fifth year in a row, the "grim milestone" of 1 000 migrant deaths in the Mediterranean was crossed.
