Libya's coast guard has revealed that it has saved some 80 African immigrants, including four women and two children, and retrieved one body in the Mediterranean Sea east of the capital, Tripoli.

Spokesperson Ayoub Gassim said late on Wednesday that the migrants were found on a damaged rubber boat and had remained at sea for around four hours before the coast guard arrived.

He said the migrants were given humanitarian and medical aid, and were handed over to anti-migration authorities.

Libya has emerged as a major transit point to Europe for those fleeing poverty and civil war elsewhere in Africa.

Traffickers have exploited Libya';;s chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled and later killed a longtime dictator.

Libyan authorities have stepped up efforts to stem the flow of migrants, with European assistance.