According to migration officials about 240 migrants are believed drowned in two shipwrecks off the coast of Libya.
The UN refugee agency was told the news by survivors brought ashore on the Italian island of Lampedusa, spokeswoman Carlotta Sami said.
No bodies have yet been recovered.
Sami said that 31 survivors of two shipwrecks who arrived to Lampedusa on Thursday reported that their boats capsized in heavy seas.
They said 29 people survived the first wreck, and about 120 people had gone missing.
More than 4,200 migrants have died making the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea this year, International Organization of Migration spokesman Leonard Doyle says.
The UN has warned 2016 could be the deadliest for migrants making the journey.
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