The security department of the western Libyan city of Zuwaraon on Saturday announced the arrest of 28 illegal immigrants who prepared to cross the sea into Europe.

The immigrants, who are of African and Asian nationalities, were arrested inside a house in the nearby town of Abu-Kammash, said the department in a statement.

Some of the immigrants have infectious diseases, the statement said, adding that they have been taken to the department to undergo legal procedures before being handed over to competent authorities.

Thousands of immigrants, mostly Africans, choose to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe to escape the chaos that plagued Libya following the 2011 uprising that toppled the late leader Muammar Gaddafi.