Mediterranean Tragedy: Two Nigerians Dead, Dozens Missing After Migrant Boat Capsizes

The International Organization 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.

According to the IOM, 42 passengers are missing and presumed dead, and seven survivors were rescued following the shipwreck off Libya’s coast — the latest fatal incident along the Central Mediterranean migration route.

The migrants, including the Nigerians, were aboard a rubber boat that left Zuwara in northwest Libya around 3 a.m. on November 3, the IOM said, citing survivors. Roughly six hours into the journey, high waves caused engine failure, capsizing the vessel and throwing all 49 passengers — 47 men and two women — overboard.

Libyan authorities rescued seven men after the boat drifted for six days: four from Sudan, two from Nigeria, and one from Cameroon. The missing passengers include 29 Sudanese, eight Somalis, three Cameroonians, and two Nigerians. The IOM provided the survivors with emergency medical care, food, and water upon disembarkation.

This tragedy comes weeks after other deadly incidents off Surman, Libya, and the Italian island of Lampedusa. The IOM’s Missing Migrants Project reports that over 1,000 people have already died in the Mediterranean in 2025, highlighting the ongoing dangers of the Central Mediterranean route.

The organization urged greater regional cooperation, expanded safe migration pathways, and improved search-and-rescue operations to prevent further loss of life, emphasizing that humane and orderly migration benefits both migrants and host societies.

Since 2014, more than 25,600 people have died or gone missing in the Central Mediterranean — the world’s deadliest migration route — due to long journeys, unsafe vessels, smuggling, and limited rescue capacity. The IOM noted that multiple simultaneous departures of unseaworthy boats often complicate rescue operations.