A rubber boat carrying 55 passengers, including two babies, has overturned off the coast of Libya, leaving 53 people feared dead or missing, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported on Monday.
The only survivors, two Nigerian women, were rescued by Libyan authorities on Friday. One survivor lost her husband, while the other reported that her two babies had perished. Both received emergency medical care from IOM teams.
The vessel sank roughly six hours after departing from the coastal city of al-Zawiya in north-western Libya, north of Zuwara. Passengers included migrants and refugees from various African countries seeking to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.
IOM said almost 500 migrants have been reported dead or missing in 2026 alone while attempting the dangerous crossing from Libya. January accounted for at least 375 deaths, many occurring during periods of extreme winter weather and “invisible” shipwrecks that were never reported.
Libya has long been a departure point for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Conditions for migrants in the country remain dire, with widespread reports of torture, trafficking, forced labor, extortion, and abuse by both state and non-state actors.
The IOM warned that traffickers continue to overcrowd vessels and force people into unsafe journeys, contributing to the mounting death toll. The agency has called for stronger international cooperation to dismantle smuggling networks and for safe, legal migration pathways to prevent further loss of life.
Several countries, including the UK, Spain, Norway, and Sierra Leone, have urged Libya to close detention centers where human rights abuses against migrants have been documented.
