The International Organisation for Migration says two Nigerians were rescued, while two others died after a vessel carrying 49 people capsized in the Mediterranean Sea.
The IOM said 42 people are missing and presumed dead, while seven survivors were rescued following a shipwreck off the coast of Libya — the latest fatal incident in the Central Mediterranean route.
According to the IOM, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday, more than 1,000 lives have been lost in the Mediterranean in 2025 alone.
The Nigerians were among 49 migrants and refugees aboard a rubber boat that departed from Zuwara in northwest Libya around 3 a.m. on November 3, the IOM said, citing survivor accounts.
“The vessel capsized roughly six hours later after high waves caused the engine to fail,” the IOM said.
“All passengers — 47 men and two women — were thrown overboard.
“The boat drifted for six days before Libyan authorities rescued seven men — four from Sudan, two from Nigeria, and one from Cameroon — on November 8.
“The missing passengers include 29 from Sudan, eight from Somalia, three from Cameroon, and two from Nigeria.”
The agency added that its team “provided the survivors with emergency medical care, water, and food upon arrival at the disembarkation point in coordination with relevant authorities.”
The tragedy comes just weeks after other deadly incidents off Surman, Libya, and the Italian island of Lampedusa.
Latest data from the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project shows that the death toll in the Central Mediterranean has already surpassed 1,000 this year, as more people attempt the perilous sea journey to Europe.
“With this latest shipwreck, the total has risen even further, reinforcing the urgent need for strengthened regional cooperation,” the IOM said.
The organisation also called for “expanded safe and regular migration pathways and more effective search and rescue operations to prevent further loss of life.”
“IOM upholds that humane and orderly migration benefits both people on the move and society as a whole,” it said.
Since 2014, more than 25,600 people have died or gone missing in the Central Mediterranean — the world’s deadliest migration route — which stretches from North Africa to Italy.
The high death toll is attributed to several factors, including the length of the journey, increasingly dangerous smuggling patterns, limited search-and-rescue capacity, and restrictions on the work of non-governmental organisations saving lives at sea.
In addition, migrants often attempt the crossing in unseaworthy, overcrowded inflatable boats.
The IOM noted that because many unsafe vessels are launched simultaneously, it complicates ongoing search-and-rescue operations.
(NAN)
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