100 migrants feared dead after boat sinks off Libyan coast

At least 100 migrants, including three children, are feared dead after their boat capsised off the coast of Libya, the Libyan navy said Friday.

The navy rescued 16 migrants, the Libyan navy spokesman Ayob Qassem said.

Their rubber boat was rickety and overcrowded, he added.

According to one of the rescued migrants, the boat carried around 125 immigrants of different African and Arab nationalities, including dozens of women and children, reports Xinhua.

Libyan navy rescued nearly 2,000 migrants in the past two weeks off the country's western coast, and recovered bodies of more than 30 others drowned at sea.

Libya is a preferred point of departure for migrants who want to cross the Mediterranean toward Europe because of insecurity and chaos in their countries.