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At least 90 people were feared dead Friday in the latest refugees tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya, the U.N. migration agency said.
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"At least 90 migrants are reported to have drowned, when a boat capsized off the coast of Libya this morning", the International Organization for Migration said in a statement.
It added that "10 bodies are reported to have washed up on Libyan shores", including two Libyan nationals and eight Pakistanis.
Two survivors from the disaster had swum to shore, while another was rescued by a fishing boat, IOM further said.
The agency has repeatedly issued warnings over the extreme dangers facing migrants who try to reach Europe via the so-called central Mediterranean route, which connects Libya to Italy.
Excluding Friday's tragedy, 218 refugees have already died on the central route in 2018, according to IOM figures.
On the eastern Mediterranean route that connects Turkey and Greece, used by 1,089 so far this year, no fatalities have yet been recorded in 2018.
Meanwhile 28 people have died in 2018 on the western route that links North Africa to Spain, IOM said.
Libya is the main gateway for migrants trying to cross to Europe by sea, though numbers have dropped sharply since July as Libyan factions and authorities, under pressure from Italy and the European Union, have begun to block departures.
More than 600,000 people are believed to have made the journey from Libya to Italy over the past four years.
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