The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has confirmed that two Nigerians have died, while two others were rescued, after a vessel carrying 49 migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea.
According to the IOM, the Nigerians were among 49 migrants and refugees on a rubber boat that left Zuwara, in northwest Libya, around 3 a.m. on November 3.
IOM said 42 people remain missing and presumed dead, while seven survivors were rescued after a shipwreck off the coast of Libya, marking the latest tragedy along the Central Mediterranean route.
The IOM reported that the vessel capsised about six hours after departure when high waves caused the engine to fail, throwing all 49 passengers comprising 47 men and two women overboard.
The organisation added that the boat drifted for six days before Libyan authorities rescued seven men on November 8, including four from Sudan, two from Nigeria, and one from Cameroon. It added that the missing passengers include 29 from Sudan, 8 from Somalia, and 2 from Nigeria.
The agency further stated that its team provided the survivors with emergency medical care, water, and food upon arrival at the rescue point, in coordination with relevant authorities.
According to the latest data by the IOM’s Missing Migration Project, the Central Mediterranean death rate has already exceeded 1,000 this year, as more people attempt to gain their way to Europe through the dangerous sea route.
The IOM stressed that this latest shipwreck reinforces the critical need for strengthened regional cooperation, stressing that expansion of safe and regular migration routes, along with more effective search and rescue operations, would help prevent further loss of life.
The high death toll has been linked to several factors, including the long journey, increasingly perilous smuggling practices, limited search-and-rescue capabilities, and restrictions on the operations of non-governmental organisations involved in saving lives at sea.
