Tripoli, Jan 14 (IANS): The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Tuesday said that 493 migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya in the past week.

Between January 5 and January 11, "493 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya," IOM said in a statement.

The migrants include 47 women and 17 children, IOM added, noting that three bodies of migrants were retrieved.

In 2024, 21,762 migrants were rescued and returned to Libya, while 674 died and 1,015 went missing on the Central Mediterranean route, including those departing from Libya and other countries.

Since the fall of late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the ensuing insecurity and chaos in Libya have prompted many migrants, primarily from Africa, to attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach European shores, Xinhua news agency reported.

Last month, Libya deported a group of migrants to Niger by land, the first such deportation in years, according to the Libyan Illegal Migration Control Department.

The department said in a statement on its Facebook page that the deportation took place in the presence of Niger's charge d'affaires to Libya.

The migrants were deported across the land border with Niger "for violating applicable Libyan laws" after completing necessary procedures, the statement said. It added that deportations of migrants from Libya to their countries of origin would continue.

Libya became a major transit point for migrants, mostly from Africa, seeking to reach Europe by sea after the 2011 overthrow of its late leader, Muammar Gaddafi, plunged the country into chaos.

The IOM estimates that there are 787,326 migrants in Libya, with 41 per cent of them reporting they experienced shocks such as environmental, political, or economic hardship before migrating to Libya.