THE International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has reported that two Nigerians were rescued, while two others lost their lives after a vessel carrying 49 people capsized in the Mediterranean Sea.
The News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday quoted the IOM as saying 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 vessel capsized roughly six hours later after high waves caused the engine to fail. 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 IOM said.
The agency noted that 42 people were missing and were presumed dead, marking the latest tragedy along the Central Mediterranean route.
“The missing passengers include 29 from Sudan, eight from Somalia, three from Cameroon, and two from Nigeria,” the agency added.
The agency explained further that the tragedy occurred just weeks after other fatal shipwrecks near Surman, Libya, and the Italian island of Lampedusa.
“Provided the survivors with emergency medical care, water, and food upon arrival at the disembarkation point in coordination with relevant authorities,” the agency added.
Recent data from the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project reveals that deaths along the Central Mediterranean route have already exceeded 1,000 in 2025 alone, as more people risk the dangerous sea crossing 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 the expansion of safe and legal migration routes, as well as stronger search and rescue efforts to help prevent further loss of life.
It said since 2014, over 25,600 people had died or gone missing along the Central Mediterranean, the world’s deadliest migration route which runs from North Africa to Italy.
The alarming death toll has been linked to several factors, including the long and treacherous journey, increasingly risky smuggling practices, limited search-and-rescue operations, and restrictions on the activities of non-governmental organisations conducting sea rescues.
Moreover, many migrants make the journey in overcrowded, unseaworthy inflatable boats.
The IOM said the simultaneous launch of numerous unsafe vessels often hampered ongoing search-and-rescue efforts.
The ICIR reported in 2023 that data from IOM showed that about 1,200 Nigerians died while trying to cross the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea, two dangerous migration routes in the world.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.