Libya Shipwreck Toll Hits 76, U.N. Fears 200 Dead

At least 76 people have died after a ship carrying hundreds of migrants and refugees sank off the coast of Libya, a spokesman for the Libyan Red Crescent said Friday.

The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, said as many as 200 people on two boats were feared dead.

"Until now 76 bodies have been retrieved from the sea and 198 people have been rescued," Mohammad al-Misrati of the Libyan Red Crescent told AFP.

Libya's coastguard initially said 30 people had died in the disaster that unfolded on Thursday near the western port of Zuwara.

"There are still people missing but we don't know how many," Misrati said, adding that the figures of dead and rescued came from the local Red Crescent branch, medical facilities in Zuwara and the Libyan coastguard.

In Geneva, UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told reporters that two boats carrying a total of 500 refugees and migrants had sunk.

"The Libyan coastguard carried out two rescue operations on Thursday morning ... off the port town of Zuwara," she said.

"We are hearing media reports that there are about 100 survivors. Our office in Libya is checking with the coastguard We believe 200 are still missing, feared dead."

Red Crescent teams wearing protective white clothing and masks on Friday collected bodies that had washed ashore on a Zuwara beach, placing them in orange plastic bags and carrying them to ambulances.

Libya, with a coastline of 1,770 kilometers (more than 1,000 miles), has for years been a stepping stone for Africans seeking a better life in Europe, with most heading for Italy.

Conflicts across the Middle East, especially in Syria, have also made Libya a transit country for those fleeing violence in the region.

People smugglers have taken advantage of the chaos since the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Moammar Gadhafi to step up their lucrative business.

The Mediterranean crossing is treacherous, and about 2,500 people have died at sea trying to reach Europe this year alone.