By Senhal Bolelli

MADRID

A boat carrying 20 irregular migrants sank off Libya’s coast, leaving three dead, an Italian news agency said Friday.

Citing Italian navy sources, ANSA reported that an inflatable boat sank 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of the Libyan capital of Tripoli in the Mediterranean Sea.

Three people on board were rescued, but they were in poor health, it said.

The Libyan Coast Guard is continuing to search for 14 other migrants in the sea, ANSA added.

Last year, more than 2,240 people either died or went missing at sea while attempting to reach Europe via the Mediterranean, according to the UN Refugee Agency.