A boat carrying roughly 60 migrants, including women and children, capsized Tuesday off the coast of eastern Libya, marking the latest deadly shipwreck along the central Mediterranean crossing. At least 50 people are dead or missing, according to local authorities.
The vessel went down near Bardaa Island, off the port city of Tobruk, the eastern Libyan Coast Guard reported. Ten survivors managed to swim to the island, while search operations for the remaining passengers continue.
The incident underscores the persistent lethality of the Mediterranean migration route. Libya has remained a primary departure point for people fleeing conflict and poverty across Africa and the Middle East since the 2011 uprising that toppled Moammar Gadhafi plunged the nation into protracted instability. Smuggling networks routinely load migrants onto unseaworthy craft, resulting in a relentless toll of lives lost at sea.
Data from the International Organization for Migration indicates that more than 800 migrants were reported dead or missing on the central Mediterranean route between January 1 and mid-May of this year alone. In 2023, that figure surpassed 1,300.