At Least 53 Migrants Dead or Missing After Boat Capsizes Off Libya Coast

At least 53 migrants, including two babies, are dead or missing after a rubber boat capsized off the coast of Libya, the United Nations said on Monday, highlighting once again the dangers of the Central Mediterranean migration route.

According to a statement from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the vessel was carrying 55 migrants when it capsized north of the coastal city of Zuwara on February 6. Libyan authorities rescued only two Nigerian women during a search operation.

One of the survivors reported losing her husband in the incident, while the other said she lost her two babies.

“IOM mourns the loss of life in yet another deadly incident along the Central Mediterranean route. IOM teams provided the two survivors with emergency medical care upon disembarkation, in co-ordination with relevant authorities,” the agency said.

The survivors told IOM officials that the boat, carrying migrants and refugees from several African countries, departed from Al Zawiya in western Libya at around 11pm on February 5. The vessel reportedly began taking on water and capsized approximately six hours later.

The latest tragedy adds to a growing toll of migrant deaths in the region. In January, at least 375 migrants were reported dead or missing following shipwrecks in the Central Mediterranean amid extreme weather conditions, according to IOM data. The agency warned that hundreds of additional deaths may have gone unrecorded.

IOM figures show that more than 1,300 migrants went missing in the Central Mediterranean in 2025, while the most recent incident brings the number of migrants reported dead or missing so far this year to at least 484.

Since the fall of Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, Libya has become a key transit point for migrants attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe, often fleeing conflict, violence, and poverty. However, the route remains one of the world’s deadliest maritime migration corridors.

In November, the UN reported that 42 people went missing and were presumed dead after a rubber boat carrying migrants capsized off Libya’s coast. In October, authorities recovered the bodies of 61 migrants from western Libyan shores over a two-week period. A month earlier, IOM said at least 50 people died when a vessel carrying Sudanese refugees caught fire at sea.

Humanitarian agencies continue to call for stronger search-and-rescue efforts and safer migration pathways to prevent further loss of life in the Mediterranean.