A boat carrying 61 migrants has sank off the coast of the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk, leaving 51 people dead or missing, reported ABC News, citing the Al Abreen Foundation for Migrants and Humanitarian Services.

Ten migrants survived the shipwreck, which occurred last week in the Mediterranean Sea, off the eastern part of the North African nation, according to the Abreen group, which tracks movements of migrants in eastern Libya.

Sixteen bodies have so far been recovered from coastal areas, including Ain Al-Ghazala, Al-Qardaba, Akrimah, and Al-Qa'rah.

Search and recovery operations for the remaining missing migrants are still ongoing, it added. 

It was the latest tragedy in this part of the Mediterranean Sea. The Libyan coast is one of the main departure points for migrants from North Africa trying to reach European shores for a better life there, stated the ABC News report. They are packed by smugglers into small and unsafe boats, with thousands dying during the perilous sea journey, it added.