Hundreds of refugees die as boat capsized off Libyan coast

Hundreds of people have been feared dead as a boat reportedly packed with people from Africa and South Asia bound for Italy has sunk off the Libyan coast.

A security official in Zuwarah, a town in the North African nation's west from where the overcrowded boat had set off, said on Thursday there were about 400 people on board.

While an official death toll has not been announced, sources said that dozens of people died in the incident, with many reported to have been trapped in the cargo hold when the boat capsized.

By late in the evening, the Libyan coastguard had rescued about 201 people, of which 147 were brought to a detention facility for "illegal migrants" in Sabratha, west of the capital Tripoli, the security official was cited by Reuters news agency as saying.

Another local official and a journalist based in Zuwarah confirmed the sinking but also had no information on casualties.

The people on board had been from sub-Saharan Africa, Pakistan, Syria, Morocco, and Bangladesh, the Libyan security official said.

Hundreds of people have been feared dead as a boat reportedly packed with people from Africa and South Asia bound for Italy has sunk off the Libyan coast

The Italian coastguard, which has been coordinating rescue operations with the European Union off the Libyan coast, could not confirm a sinking.

Libya's coastguard has very limited capabilities, relying on small inflatables, tug boats and fishing vessels.

Source: REUTERS, Al Jazeera