115 illegal migrants rescued off Libya's coast

Libyan naval forces rescued 115 illegal migrants after their overloaded rubber boat sank off the coastline .

The vessel went down 5 km off Tajoura, just east of Libyan capital, Tripoli.

“We received signal at around 1:30 in the afternoon that a boat was calling for help so two rescue missions were sent. 115 were saved, including six women .According to the migrants there was a total of 180 of them, which means around 25 of them are still missing,” said a Ashraf al-badr, a Libyan naval officer.

Libyan coastguards carried out a search operation in that area in an attempt to find the missing ones but no one was found.

According to an official, the survivors were from different sub-Saharan Africa countries, and there were six women on board.

Libya is the main smuggling point for migrants hoping to reach Europe by sea.

Last month, the bodies of 74 migrants were found washed up on a beach in western Libya after the engine of their vessel was stolen.