Over 60 people have drowned in the capsizing of a migrant vessel off Libya, the UN says

The U.N. migration agency says a boat carrying dozens of migrants trying to reach Europe capsized off the coast of Libya, leaving more than 60 people dead, including women and children.

The shipwreck was the latest tragedy in this part of the Mediterranean Sea, a key route for migrants seeking a better life in Europe.

The agency said the boat was carrying 86 migrants when strong waves swamped it off the town of Zuwara on Libya's western coast and that 61 migrants drowned, according to survivors.

Libya has in recent years emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.