Hundreds drown off Libya trying to escape to Europe

At least 300 could have died, the International Organisation for Migration said, but estimates of the number of dead varied wildly amid reports that two more boats had sunk in high winds and difficult seas.

The organisation's spokesman Jean-Philippe Chauzy said the group verified the information with diplomatic sources and that the migrants were crossing to Italy. At least 21 people were confirmed to have drowned but about 20 were rescued after one boat reportedly carrying 250 people went down.

A second boat is thought to have been carrying more than 300 people and unconfirmed reports said another with 342 migrants on board had also sunk after leaving Libya.

The first boat ran into difficulties shortly after setting off from Sidi Bilal, near Tripoli, but foundered 19 miles off the coast after getting holed in the hull, said Egyptian foreign ministry official Ahmed Rizk, who reported that some of the migrants were from Egypt.

He said: "Libyan search and rescue operations led to the recovery of the bodies of those who drowned as a result of the accident, among them the bodies of 10 Egyptians." The nationalities of other migrants on the boat were not known.

A Libyan official said the shipwrecks had taken place "in the past two days" and that search and rescue operations were continuing today.

Sources said two more boats had been spotted "drifting off Libya's coast" but could not give any information about the condition or the number of migrants on board.

Tens of thousands of migrants attempt to reach Europe illegally by sea every year and Libya has become a popular transit point. Would-be migrants often come from Egypt, where there is a high rate of youth unemployment. They usually head for Italy.

Often the boats they use are not seaworthy, which means they often end up in difficulties. At least 40 people drowned when a boat sank while making the crossing last June.