Tripoli, Dec 27 (IANS): The Libyan Red Crescent said on that 27 bodies of illegal immigrants were recovered off the coast of Al-Allus town, some 95 km east of the capital Tripoli.

"Bodies recovery team recovered 17 bodies of illegal immigrants, including an infant, off the shore of Al-Allus," Xinhua news agency quoted the Red Crescent as saying in a statement.

"With the help of the Coast Guard in a nearby location, the team recovered additional 10 bodies of illegal immigrants, including two women, and rescued three others who were provided with first aid assistance," it added.

According to the rescued migrants, a number of migrants remained missing.

Search is underway for the missing.

Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, making the North African country a preferred point of departure for illegal immigrants who want to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores.

So far this year, a total of 31,456 illegal migrants have been rescued and returned to Libya, while hundreds of others died and went missing off the Libyan coast on the Central Mediterranean route, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).