A migrant boat overturned north of Zuwara after departing western Libya late on February 5, according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration. The overcrowded rubber craft began taking on water and sank roughly six hours into the journey.
Only two Nigerian women were pulled from the sea by Libyan authorities and given emergency medical care; one lost her husband, the other her two children in the disaster.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the vessel was carrying migrants and refugees from several African countries seeking to reach Europe via the dangerous Central Mediterranean route.
This tragedy brings the 2026 death and missing toll along the central Mediterranean route to at least 484 people, adding to a growing tally of shipwrecks as winter crossings persist amid severe weather and unsafe boats.
The IOM warned that trafficking and smuggling networks continue to exploit desperate travelers by using unseaworthy rubber boats, pushing them into perilous sea journeys without proper safety equipment or legal pathways.