Tragedy at Sea: Migrant Boat Capsizes Off Libya, Dozens Dead

By Staff, Agencies

The International Organization for Migration [IOM] said Monday that 53 of 55 migrants are dead or missing after their rubber boat capsized off the coast of Libya.

The vessel departed from Al-Zawiya, Libya, at around 11:00pm on February 5, then capsized about six hours later north of Zuwara, the IOM stated, citing survivor accounts.

According to the UN agency, only two Nigerian women survived and were retrieved during a search-and-rescue operation by Libyan authorities. One survivor said she lost her husband in the wreck, while the other said she lost her two babies.

“These tragedies are preventable. Urgent action is needed to protect lives and ensure safe, regular pathways on the Central Mediterranean route,” the agency stated on X. 

Libya has become a major transit point for migrants from Africa and the Middle East, using a dangerous Central Mediterranean route where overcrowded boats often sink or capsize before reaching Europe.

So far in 2026, at least 484 migrants have died or gone missing on the Central Mediterranean route, including 375 in January alone, though the true toll is likely higher, the IOM says.

During the first week of February, 244 migrants were intercepted at sea and taken back to Libya.
The UN reported that more than 1,314 migrants disappeared and 27,116 were intercepted and returned to Libya in the Central Mediterranean in 2025.

“Smuggling and trafficking networks continue to profit from desperate people by sending them to sea in unseaworthy boats,” the UN stressed.