This is the first migrant shipwreck in 2021, UNHCR said.
The boat left the northwestern Libyan city of Zawya early Tuesday and capsized just hours after departure due to poor sea conditions and the engine stopping, UNHCR said.
The people who died were all men from West African countries, UNHCR added.
“Survivors, especially from Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana and The Gambia, reported that those who perished were all men from West African countries,” the UNHCR said.
“Hundreds of people lost their lives last year trying to cross the Central Mediterranean Sea, where the highest number of deaths occurred during a single global migration journey,” the statement said.
“The ILO and UNHCR fear that due to limited capacity to monitor routes, the actual number of people who perished in the Central Mediterranean in 2020 could be much higher,” she added.