Three babies died and at least 100 refugees were reported missing after their boat capsized off the coast of Libya on Friday. The Libyan coastguard picked up 16 survivors from the boat, just east of the capital, Tripoli, an unidentified official told Al Jazeera.

Survivors told AFP that the boat sank a few hours after its pre-dawn departure from Castelverde town east of Tripoli, after an explosion on board. The motor caught fire and water began to enter the vessel, they said. “I lost all of my Yemeni friends who were with me. All five of them are missing,” Amri Swileh, a survivor said.

Those missing include two babies and three children under the age of 12.

Fisherpeople found the vessel in difficulty and contacted the Libyan coastguard. “It was horrible to see,” Salem al-Qadhi, a coastguard captain who reached the site of the accident said.

The Libya branch of the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration said on Twitter that 345 refugees disembarked from the boat and received humanitarian assistance in Tripoli.