GENEVA
The number of migrants who have died while attempting to cross the Central Mediterranean this year has already surpassed 1,000, the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Wednesday, warning that the death toll continues to rise with each new tragedy.
In the latest incident, more than 40 people are feared dead after an inflatable boat capsized off the coast of Libya on Nov. 8. Libyan authorities launched a search and rescue operation near the Al Buri Oil Field after the vessel, which had departed from Zuwara on Nov. 3, overturned in rough seas.
According to survivors, the IOM said, the boat carried 49 migrants and refugees, 47 men and two women, when high waves caused the engine to fail about six hours after departure. Only seven men survived after drifting at sea for six days: four from Sudan, two from Nigeria, and one from Cameroon.
The 42 others remain missing and are presumed dead, including 29 Sudanese, eight Somalis, three Cameroonians, and two Nigerians.
The IOM said its teams provided emergency medical care, food, and water to the survivors upon arrival.
“This tragic event, coming just weeks after other deadly incidents off Surman and Lampedusa, underscores the persistent dangers faced by migrants and refugees along the Central Mediterranean Route,” the agency said in a statement.
The organization renewed its call for strengthened regional cooperation, expanded safe and legal migration pathways, and more effective search and rescue efforts to prevent further loss of life.
