Migrant boat capsizes off Libya coast, 53 feared dead, UN agency says

Tripoli: At least 53 people are dead or missing after a boat carrying migrants capsized off Libya. Two children are among the victims. The accident occurred when the boat, which left the western Libyan city of Zawiya on Thursday night, capsized on Friday morning in the town of Zuwara, a route frequently chosen by people seeking a better life in Europe from Africa.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Monday that the boat carrying 55 people capsized on Friday north of the northwestern Libyan city of Zuwara. Libyan authorities rescued only two people, both women of Nigerian origin. One survivor told IOM that she lost her husband in the accident. Another said she lost her two children.

Only two women were rescued.

According to reports, the boat left the western city of Al-Zawiya late on February 5th. Survivors told the UN migration agency that about six hours into the journey, the boat began filling with water and capsized. IOM said its teams provided emergency medical assistance to the women.

This route across the Central Mediterranean Sea remains one of the most dangerous migration routes. The death toll from this tragedy has reached 484 in 2026 alone. The agency warned that smuggling networks continue to exploit migrants by using poorly equipped vessels. It urged international organizations to address this serious issue.

Accidents on this route are frequent.

In November last year, the International Monetary Organization (IOM) reported that a rubber boat carrying 49 migrants and refugees capsized off the Libyan coast, killing 42 people. The IOM stated that Libyan authorities launched a search and rescue operation near the Al Buri oil field on November 8th. The vessel, which had departed from the Libyan coastal town of Zuwara, capsized.

According to survivors, the boat left Zuwara on November 3rd. About six hours after departure, high waves caused engine failure, causing the vessel to capsize and sweeping all passengers out to sea. Six days later, seven people were rescued: four from Sudan, two from Nigeria, and one from Cameroon. The IOM stated that the 42 missing migrants were presumed dead.

More than 1,000 migrants and refugees died in the Central Mediterranean in 2025, according to IOM's Missing Migrants Project data. The Libyan Defence Ministry, under the UN-recognized Government of National Unity (GNU), announced that it had targeted several boats used to smuggle illegal migrants in northwestern Libya.