Ibrahim al-Attoushi, the Red Crescent Official, said no fewer than 100 people were still missing, adding that over 198 migrants had been rescued.
He said the boat sank on Thursday after leaving Zuwara, a major launch pad for smugglers shipping migrants to Italy.
Al-Attoushi said many of the migrants on board, most from sub-Saharan Africa, had been trapped in the hold when the boat capsised.
He said efforts to rescue more migrants was hampered by lack of proper navy ships, as Libyan officials were searching for survivors with boats provided by fishermen.
“We, the Red Crescent, work with nothing; some fishermen helped us with a boat. We only have one ambulance car”, he said.
Libya had turned into a major transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to make it to Europe.
Cross-border smuggler networks exploit the country’s lawlessness and chaos to bring Syrians into Libya via Egypt or nationals of sub-Saharan countries via Niger, Sudan and Chad.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday, that the number of refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe has passed 300,000 in 2015, up from 219,000 in the whole of 2014.
Libya has been struggling to cope with the influx of migrants, putting them in overcrowded makeshift detention facilities such as schools or military barracks where they live in poor conditions lacking medical care. (Reuters/NAN)
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