42 migrants presumed dead off Libya coast

TRIPOLI:

At least 42 migrants are missing and presumed dead after a rubber boat capsized off Libya's coast, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday.

Libyan authorities rescued seven survivors who had drifted at sea for six days after the vessel, carrying 49 people, sank near the Al Buri oilfield, north-northwest of the Libyan coast. The migrants were from Sudan, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Somalia, the IOM said. Libya has been a key transit point for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty for Europe since the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi during a NATO-backed uprising. The IOM said the death toll in the central Mediterranean had exceeded 1,000 this year. Across the entire Mediterranean, 2,452 migrants died in 2024, according to IOM data.

"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.