Hundreds feared dead after Libya boats capsize: Reports

At least 100 people have died after two boats carrying migrants sank off the coast of the Libyan city of Zuwara, locals and officials said on Thursday.

The BBC reported that one of the boats was carrying up to 400 passengers and another had around 50 on board.

A local resident said that more than 100 bodies had already been taken to a hospital in Zuwara. Among the victims are reportedly Syrians, Bangladeshis and sub-Saharan Africans.

Many of the migrants on the boats are feared dead, but the Libyan coast gaurd is continuing to conduct a search and rescue mission for the remaining passengers.

Around 110 survivors have been rescued so far, The Guardian quoted a Doctors Without Borders representative as saying. 

Some of the bodies were taken to shore, but many were left to float in the water overnight, as coastguards did not have enough light to work by.

Earlier on Thursday, at least 10 other people died when a boat carrying some 200 migrants off the coast of Libya sank.

On Wednesday, rescuers found at least 50 corpses of passengers thought to have choked to death on gas fumes on stricken boats in the Mediterranean.

Refugees fleeing conflict in the Middle East have also been undertaking perilous journeys over land in hopes of reaching Western Europe. In another deadly incident, between 20 and 50 migrants and refugees were found dead in a lorry in Austria on Thursday.

According to UN figures, around 2,400 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean in 2015 so far.