TRIPOLI: Libya's coast guard intercepted 906 migrants off the western city of Sabratha on Friday. The migrants were attempting to reach Europe, a navy spokesman said on Saturday.

"A coastguard patrol from Zawiya (west of Tripoli) intercepted five inflatable boats and a wooden vessel carrying 906 migrants at dawn on Friday," Gen. Ayoub Qassem said.

The migrants were on board several wooden and rubber boats, the coast guard spokesman said. One of the rubber boats was perforated and nearly submerged and a wooden boat had its engine missing, he said.

The migrants were African, Asian and Arab, and included 98 women, including seven who were pregnant, and 25 children, Qassem said.

People traffickers have exploited the chaos in Libya since a 2011 uprising toppled and killed strongman Muammar Qaddafi to boost their lucrative but deadly trade.

The country has been in turmoil for years and is the most common departure point for migrants trying to reach Europe by sea. More than 60,000 migrants have crossed the central Mediterranean route from Libya to Italy so far this year.

Smugglers pack the migrants onto ill-equipped boats that usually get picked up by European rescue vessels once they reach international waters.

However, some sink or become stranded when smugglers remove the engines for reuse, and some get turned back by the Libyan coast guard.