Up to 90 mostly Pakistani migrants were feared to have drowned off the coast of Libya on Friday after their boat capsized.

The vessel, owned by smugglers, was meant to have taken the migrants towards Italy but instead sank not far from the coast.

The bodies of 10 victims were reported to have washed up on the shore, eight of them Pakistani and two Libyan.

At least two people survived the shipwreck and swam to shore while a third was rescued by a passing fishing boat, officials said.

There has been a recent increase in the number of Pakistanis trying to make the crossing from Libya towards Italy.