At least 300 people have drowned after several boats carrying migrants en route to Europe sank off the coast of Libya.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that Libyan officials reported between one and three ships sank in Libyan waters.
Jean-Philippe Chauzy, the group's spokesman, said it had confirmed the information with diplomatic sources.
Strong winds could have caused the vessels to capsize, he said. IOM believes the migrants were trying to cross from North Africa to Italy.
Earlier, the bodies of 23 migrants were found after a rickety fishing boat carrying 253 people sank off the coast of the North African state.
Egyptian state news agency MENA said the ship had left Libya's northern Mediterranean coast on Sunday morning, and that the boat later sank about 30km off the coast due to a holed hull. Ten Egyptians were among the dead, it said.
At least 23 people were rescued by Libyan coastguards when a second boat packed with migrants went down, but another 342 people on board were still missing, the officials said.
Both vessels were en route to Italy when they started taking on water.
"We have information that two more boats were drifting off Libya's coast but we do not know the exact conditions and the number of the migrants on board," one of the officials said.
Thousands of would-be migrants from Africa, many in flimsy and overcrowded boats, have died attempting the voyage to Europe.
Italy has said it will soon launch joint sea patrols with Libya aimed at stopping the heavy influx of illegal immigrants.
The patrols will start on May 15, a day that will "mark the end" of illegal immigration from North Africa, Roberto Maroni, the interior minister, said. continues here
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