By Walid Abdullah

TRIPOLI, Libya (AA): Eight migrants, including six children, suffocated inside a shipping container in northwestern Libya on Monday, according to Libyan authorities.

Another 90 migrants found inside the containers were in critical condition and were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment, the National Security Directorate in Zuwarah city said in a statement.

The migrants were from Arab and African countries, as well as Pakistan and Bangladesh, according to the statement.

The directorate said the migrants had been locked inside the shipping container for a “long time”.

Meanwhile, at least 158 undocumented migrants have been rescued off Libya’s northwestern coast, the country’s navy said Monday.

In a statement, naval forces affiliated with Libya’s UN-recognized unity government said the migrants were rescued 26 miles off the coast of the northwestern city of Khoms, located east of the capital Tripoli.

Libya represents a major transit point for African migrants seeking access to Europe, especially Italy.

Ever since the collapse of Libya’s central authority in 2011, the country’s northwestern coast has become a hub for illegal migration to Italy and other destinations in Europe.

[Archive Photo: Libyan Red Crescent move body of a migrant washed ashore. Hundreds drowned off coast of Zuwarah on 28 August 2015. Photographer: Hazem Turkia/AA]