More than 200 decomposing bodies have been found at a Tripoli hospital that doctors and nurses abandoned because of fierce fighting between Libyan rebels and loyalists of Moammar Gadhafi, according to eyewitness reports.

A BBC correspondent found corpses of men, women and children on beds, in gurneys in the corridors and outside of the Abu Salim hospital, in a district of the capital mostly loyal to Gadhafi. His forces had occupied the facility last Saturday and snipers held rebels and medical staff at bay until Thursday, AFP says.

Some of the dead were civilians and some were fighters, including some that appeared to be African mercenaries, the BBC says. According to residents, some were already dead when brought to the hospital and others were badly wounded.

AFP reports that 17 patients were found alive, including a child, and that the Red Cross evacuated them. AFP earlier estimated the number of corpses at 80.

Some residents alleged that Gadhafi's forces murdered some of the patients, but that has not been confirmed.

A correspondent for Britain's Channel 4 provides graphic descriptions and video footage of "the horror," writing, "There is no language for the stench. You fear even to breathe in here."

Rebel forces are encountering strong resistance as they advance on Sirte, Gadhafi's birthplace and the town regarded as his last stronghold.