Photos: 200 feared dead as boat sinks off coast of Libya

A boat packed with mainly African migrants bound for Italy has sunk off the Libyan coast, with officials saying up to 200 people are believed to have died.

A security official in the western town of Zuwara, from where the overcrowded boat had set off, said there had been around 400 people on board.

Many appeared to have been trapped in the hold when it capsized. By late in the evening, the Libyan coast guard rescued around 201, of which 147 were brought to a detention facility for illegal migrants in Sabratha, west of Tripoli, the anonymous official said. See more photos below...