Tobruk

It is estimated the boat was carrying up to 750 migrants when it set off from the port of Tobruk in Libya nearly a week earlier.

Analysts have speculated that if Russia is forced to close the Tartous naval facility, it could redeploy its presence to Tobruk in Libya.

The AP had no means of verifying her account, which included a second attempt at sea involving a wooden boat with around 350 passengers that began to sink shortly after departing from Tobruk, in northeastern Libya.

Russian warships may also get permanent docking rights at a Libyan port, most likely Tobruk, located just a few hundred kilometers across the Mediterranean from Greece and Italy, according to other people with knowledge of the talks.

Residents from the nearby cities of Benghazi and Tobruk have offered to put up the displaced, while volunteers search for survivors buried beneath the rubble.