A rubber boat carrying 55 passengers, including two babies, has overturned off the coast of Libya, the UN migration agency reports. The only survivors, two Nigerian women, were rescued by Libyan authorities on Friday, as announced by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) on Monday. The boat was carrying migrants and refugees from various African countries.
The boat sank after taking on water approximately six hours after departing from the coastal city of al-Zawiya in northwestern Libya. The IOM indicated that almost 500 migrants have been reported dead or missing while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Libya so far in 2026.
Libya has become a staging point for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa seeking to reach Europe since the overthrow of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Survivors informed IOM that the rubber dinghy had set out around 23:00 local time from al-Zawiya and overturned several hours later north of Zuwara.
The cause of the delay in reporting the incident remains unclear. The two survivors, who received emergency medical care from IOM teams, reported tragic losses in the disaster, with one woman losing her husband and the other losing her two babies.
In January alone, at least 375 migrants were reported dead or missing due to a series of 'invisible' shipwrecks during periods of extreme winter weather. Despite these repeated tragedies, many migrants continue to attempt the dangerous crossing.
Conditions for migrants inside Libya are widely documented as dire. UN human rights officials have warned of torture, trafficking, forced labour, extortion, and other abuses against migrants by both state and non-state actors, including militia groups. The IOM has called for stronger international cooperation to dismantle smuggling routes and improve migratory pathways to reduce fatalities at sea.
