105 bodies have been recovered after a boat packed with migrants capsized off the coast of Libya. Authorities said nearly 100 more were missing and feared dead.
The boat sank after leaving the city of Zuwara. Nearly 200 people had been rescued so far.
The confirmed number of deaths after a boat packed with migrants sank in the Mediterranean Sea has risen to 105 with almost 100 more still missing.
Lacking navy ships, Libyan officials were searching for survivors with fishing boats and inflatables provided by locals.
About 198 people had been rescued by noon, the coast guard said.
Libya officials and residents were putting bodies into red bags on a beach littered with shoes, trousers and other personal items from those who perished.
The vessel sank yesterday after leaving Zuwara, a major launchpad for smugglers taking advantage of lax security in Libya where rival governments are fighting for control four years after the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi.
Survivor Ayman Talaal, from Syria said: "The boat was in a bad condition and people died with us."
The number of refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe has passed 300,000 this year, up from 219,000 in the whole of 2014, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said.
More than 2,500 people have died making the crossing this year, not including those feared drowned off Libya in the last 24 hours, it said.
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