At least 170 illegal immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa are missing after the sinking of the boat in which they were trevelimg, off the coast of Tripoli, the Libyan coast guard said.

“We conduct surveys to detect the 170 Africans aboard a wooden vessel, which sank near the community Gkouarakouzi, 60 km east of Tripoli,” said a spokesman for the service Ampntelatif Mohamed Ibrahim.

The wooden boat was carrying about 200 people. “We managed to save the 16 and found 15 bodies, but we continue to look for others who perished at sea,” added the spokesman.

The boat with the illegal immigrants sailed from Gkouarakouzi around 3am, but sank very quickly. The Libyan Coast Guard does not have the necessary means and therefore the investigations carried out only by a boat.