Scores of refugees and migrants are feared drowned after the boats they were travelling in capsized off the coast of Libya in the Mediterranean Sea.
According to a spokesman for Libya’s coastguard, two boats carrying around 300 people sank approximately 120km east of the capital, Tripoli, before adding that 134 had been rescued.
However, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that more than 150 people were feared drowned while 145 were rescued and returned to Libya after the incident.
The survivors were picked up by local fishermen then taken back to shore by the Libyan coastguard.
Libya is one of the main departure points for migrants and refugees fleeing poverty and war in the Middle East and Africa and attempting to reach Europe by boat via the Mediterranean.
Nearly 700 deaths have been recorded in the Mediterranean so far this year, According to the International organization for migration
