Photos: 97 African migrants perished after rickety boat fell apart in the Mediterranean Sea - Libyan Navy

97 migrants, mostly African nationals including three women and a child, are believed to have perished on Wednesday, October 26th, when a rickety inflatable boat carrying them fell apart in the Mediterranean Sea and capsized off the coast of Libya.

The migrants left Tajoura, in western Libya, before dawn on Wednesday morning. A patrol of the Coast Guard received an SOS call from Libyan oil tanker Anwaar Al-Khaleej warning about an imminent drowning of an illegal immigrants' boat.

The spokesman for the navy, Ayoub Gassim said the boat tore and began filling with water about 42 kilometres (26 miles) off Libyan coast. The Libyan coast guard rescued 29 survivor out of the 129 in the boat.

"The staff onboard the tanker managed to save 29 immigrants while the remaining 97 ones, including 3 women and a child, drowned."

The Coast Guard said. Their bodies were recovered by the oil tanker staff and handed over to the Coast Guard patrol along with the rescued ones. Photo credit: Libyan Observer