Libyan authorities combatting illegal migration said the boat embarked from Egypt and overturned off Libya. Officials did not say what caused the shipwreck.
Two Egyptian migrants died and 19 more are missing after their boat capsized off Libya's coast, Libya's Department for Combating Illegal Migration announced on Monday (August 29).
Six of the total 27 migrants survived the shipwreck, two corpses were retrieved and 19 others remained missing and presumed dead, the agency said.
The anti-illegal migration agency said the boat embarked from Egypt and overturned off Libya.
The vessel was found over the weekend off the northeastern Libyan town of Tolmeitha, about 110 kilometers east of Benghazi. Officials didn't specify the vessel type or what caused it to capsize.
Tens of thousands fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea every year to try and reach Europe. Libya has in recent years become an important transit point. The north African nations shares lengthy borders with six countries.
Read more: 20,000 migrants taken back to Libya reported missing in 2021: Oxfam
With AP