Over 100 migrants dead and only ONE saved after shipwreck in the Mediterranean

WATCH: Libyan Coast Guard intercept migrants

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More than 100 migrants are said to have died in a shipwreck along the central Mediterranean route, leaving just one survivor.

The sole survivor was picked up by a Tunisian fishing vessel.

The vessel had left Libya on Thursday and sent out an SOS message shortly after.

Seabird, the aircraft that patrols the area commonly crossed by migrants, failed to locate the vessel, leading to suspicion of a shipwreck.

Alarm Phone, a hotline for boatpeople in distress, reported the incident, saying they “fear” another shipwreck has occurred.

The organisation was notified at 2pm on December 19 that a vessel had departed Zuwara, Libya, the previous night, December 18, at 8pm.

It was said to have been carrying 117 passengers.

Alarm Phone say they “repeatedly attempted to contact the boat via satellite phone, without success.”

More than 100 migrants are said to have died in a shipwreck along the central Mediterranean route, leaving just one survivor

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Relevant coastguards were also notified.

The organisation said they contacted both Libyan and Italian Coast Guards, confirming neither had rescued nor intercepted any boats.

Tunisian fishermen are believed to have picked up a single survivor on the evening of December 21.

The rescued individual claimed a few hours following their departure from Zuwara, the weather dramatically deteriorated and winds swirled.

The survivor, who is said to have become extremely weak, was transferred to hospital. He was unable to give further detail on the events that could have caused the shipwreck.

Alarm Phone say they have been unable to contact either the fishermen or the survivor since.

Both Libyan and Tunisian Coast Guards were urged by the organisation to deploy search and rescue vessels in order to recover survivors or bodies.

However, “impossible” sea conditions during December 18 and 19 meant that this could not be done, while no one has been brought ashore since.

Additionally, no boat from Libya arrived at Lampedusa, a small Italian island in the Mediterranean.

Seabird conducted an aerial search of the area, finding no survivors or visible evidence of a shipwreck.

While the survivor has not been found since being taken to hospital in order to verify the story, his version of events could mean the death of 116 migrants.

The accident would mark the latest deadly crossing attempt in the central Mediterranean Sea, where more than 1,000 migrants trying to reach Europe have died this year, according to figures from the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project.

The same project estimates that 33,220 migrants have been recorded missing in the Mediterranean since 2014.