At least 50 migrants, including women and children, are feared to have died on Monday (July 14) after a wooden boat carrying migrants capsized off Libya’s eastern coast.

According to Reuters, ten survivors were rescued near El Barda Islet, about 70 kilometres northwest of Tobruk, close to the Egyptian border. Security sources cited by Reuters said the vessel was carrying more than 60 people from several countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

On Monday, rescue teams also saved 24 irregular migrants off the coast of Tobruk and recovered four bodies from the sea. According to security sources, their vessel had been drifting without power in Libyan territorial waters for nearly two weeks.