A report released by Reuters said two bodies were found dead and about 25 others including Nigerians missing after a boat carrying 73 migrants heading to Italy capsized on Sunday off the western Libyan coast.

According to the spokesman of the coastguard, 73 migrants were aboard the inflatable boat which capsized at about 14 miles off Qarabulli town,some 49 kilometers  (30.5 miles) east of the capital Tripoli.

Among the 73 migrants, 40 were men, 25 women and eight children from Kenya, Sudan, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. The recovered bodies were a woman and a child.

The coastguard spokesman Ayoub Qassem said, “A wrecked and inflatable boat was found without an engine and the illegal migrants were found clinging to it”.

According to figures given by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) last year alone, 2,297 migrants died or went missing in the Mediterranean sea last year, and 116,959 stepped into Europe.

The west coast of Libya has been an exit point into Europe for migrants and human traffickers.

Due to the alarming incident of the number of deaths reported in the media in 2017 that caught the attention of most world leaders, the Italian government beefed up effort in collaboration with the Libyan authorities and countries affected it has since reduced the number rate of migration to Europe through the Mediterranean.

It was learnt that after the incident patrols have been stepped up to stop migration activities into Europe from the shores of the continent.