Ninety migrants, most were Pakistani nationals are feared drowned after a boat capsized off at the Libyan coast. Only three are surviving, says the UN’s migration agency.
Libya has been one of the major transit routes for migrants to reach southern Europe by sea.
But last year the EU reached a controversial deal to provide help to the Libyan coastguard to stop the flow of boats carrying migrants and refugees to Italy.
“Ten bodies are reported to have washed up on Libyan shores,” the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement.
A spokesperson said Pakistanis were increasingly trying to make the perilous crossing to Italy.
Unusually, there were also Libyans among the dead and survivors, reports the BBC’s North Africa correspondent Rana Jawad.
Libyans rarely attempt the dangerous and illegal boat journey from their country to southern Europe.
Some cases of illegal Libyan migration were documented last year, but they usually involved sturdier boats that were carrying few people.
