At least two Nigerians have died and two others were rescued after a migrant vessel capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has reported.
The rubber boat, carrying 49 people, departed from Zuwara in northwest Libya at around 3 a.m. on November 3. Rough seas caused engine failure, capsizing the vessel six hours into the journey. All passengers including 47 men and two women were thrown overboard.
Libyan authorities rescued seven survivors on November 8 after the boat drifted for six days. The rescued included four Sudanese, two Nigerians, and one Cameroonian. Forty-two passengers remain missing and are presumed dead, among them 29 from Sudan, eight from Somalia, three from Cameroon, and two from Nigeria.
The IOM said its team provided emergency medical care, food, and water to the survivors upon disembarkation, coordinating closely with local authorities.
This latest tragedy is part of a worsening crisis in the Central Mediterranean, which has claimed over 1,000 lives in 2025 alone. Since 2014, more than 25,600 people have died or gone missing along this route, which stretches from North Africa to Italy.
The IOM warned that unsafe, overcrowded vessels, dangerous smuggling routes, and limited search-and-rescue capabilities continue to fuel the high death toll. The organisation called for expanded safe migration pathways and improved rescue operations to prevent further loss of life.
“This latest shipwreck reinforces the urgent need for strengthened regional cooperation,” the IOM said, emphasizing that humane and orderly migration benefits both people on the move and society as a whole.
