Dozens dead after migrant boat capsizes off Libya

Only two survived when a rubber dinghy sank in an attempt to cross the Mediterranean, the UN has said

Fifty-three migrants are dead or missing after a rubber boat carrying 55 capsized off the coast of Libya, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement on Monday.

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 one of the main transit points for migrants from Africa and the Middle East trying to reach Europe via the Central Mediterranean. The migration route is known as one of the most dangerous because the boats are overcrowded and unsafe, and many sink or capsize before reaching European waters.

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So far in 2026, at least 484 migrants have been reported dead or missing on the Central Mediterranean route, IOM data show. The figures indicate that at least 375 migrants were recorded as dead or missing in January alone after several shipwrecks in the Central Mediterranean during severe weather conditions. The agency added that the real number of victims is likely higher believed to be unrecorded.

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.

READ MORE: Over 110 dead or missing after migrant shipwrecks – UN

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