At least 53 migrants, including two babies, are dead or missing after a rubber boat carrying 55 people capsized off the coast of Libya, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement on Monday.

The vessel overturned north of the coastal town of Zuwara on 6 February, with only two Nigerian women rescued during a search-and-rescue operation conducted by Libyan authorities.

According to the survivors, one woman lost her husband in the incident, while the other lost her two infants after the overcrowded boat began taking on water and capsized roughly six hours into the journey.

IOM said the migrants and refugees, all of African nationalities, had departed from Al-Zawiya late on 5 February in an attempt to cross the Mediterranean toward Europe. The agency confirmed that its teams provided emergency medical assistance to the survivors upon arrival on shore in coordination with local authorities.

Dangerous crossings

The tragedy adds to a growing number of deadly incidents along the Central Mediterranean migration route, considered one of the world’s most dangerous sea crossings.

IOM data show that at least 375 migrants were reported dead or missing in January alone following multiple shipwrecks, many of which go unrecorded due to the lack of survivors or rescue operations.

According to IOM’s Missing Migrants Project, more than 1,300 migrants have gone missing along the Central Mediterranean route in 2025. The latest incident raises the number of migrants reported dead or missing on the route in 2026 to at least 484.

The agency warned that human trafficking and migrant smuggling networks continue to exploit vulnerable people attempting the crossing, often placing them on unsafe and overcrowded vessels while exposing them to abuse and dangerous conditions.

IOM also called for increased international cooperation and stronger protection measures, including the expansion of safe and legal migration pathways, to reduce loss of life on the route.