Up to 200 people are feared to have died after a boat packed with mainly African migrants bound for Italy sank off the coast of Libya late yesterday. Just over 200 were rescued by the Libyan coast guard.

A security official in the western town of Zuwara, from where the overcrowded boat had set off, said there were around 400 people on board. Many appeared to have been trapped in the hold when it capsized.

By late in the evening, the Libyan coast guard rescued around 201, of which 147 were taken to a detention facility for migrants in Sabratha, west of Tripoli.

Another local official and a journalist based in Zuwara confirmed the sinking but also had no information on casualties. He also said a smaller boat, carrying about 50 people, had also capsized.

The migrants on board the boats were from sub-Saharan Africa, Pakistan, Syria, Morocco and Bangladesh, the security official said.

Zuwara, Libya's most western town located near the Tunisian border, is a major launchpad for smugglers shipping migrants to Italy.