Two Nigerians have been confirmed dead while two others survived a tragic shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has reported. The vessel, which was carrying 49 migrants and refugees attempting to cross from Libya to Europe, capsized in rough waters, leaving 42 people missing and presumed dead.
The IOM, in a statement released on Thursday, November 13, 2025, and reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), described the incident as the latest in a series of deadly shipwrecks on the Central Mediterranean route — the world’s most perilous migration corridor. According to the organisation, more than 1,000 lives have already been lost in the Mediterranean in 2025 alone, underscoring the scale of the crisis.
The doomed vessel, a rubber boat, departed from the coastal town of Zuwara in northwest Libya around 3 a.m. on November 3. It was carrying 49 people, including 47 men and two women, mostly from Sudan, Somalia, Cameroon, and Nigeria. Survivor accounts gathered by the IOM reveal that the journey turned disastrous barely six hours after departure when the boat’s engine failed due to high waves.
“The vessel capsized roughly six hours later after high waves caused the engine to fail,” the IOM said in its official report. “All passengers — 47 men and two women — were thrown overboard.”
The survivors described a scene of chaos and horror as the rubber dinghy deflated and passengers fought for their lives in open water without life jackets. For six harrowing days, the survivors drifted helplessly in the sea before being spotted and rescued by Libyan authorities on November 8.
Of the 49 migrants on board, only seven men were rescued — four from Sudan, two from Nigeria, and one from Cameroon. The remaining 42 passengers — including 29 from Sudan, eight from Somalia, three from Cameroon, and two Nigerians — are still missing and presumed dead.
The IOM said its team was on the ground to provide immediate assistance to the rescued migrants. “Our team provided the survivors with emergency medical care, water, and food upon arrival at the disembarkation point in coordination with relevant authorities,” the organisation stated.
The latest tragedy adds to a growing list of deadly shipwrecks in the Mediterranean this year. Just weeks ago, similar incidents occurred off the Libyan coast near Surman and close to the Italian island of Lampedusa, both claiming dozens of lives.
Data from the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project shows that the death toll along the Central Mediterranean route has already surpassed 1,000 in 2025, and the latest shipwreck brings the figure even higher. The agency described the situation as “a worsening humanitarian catastrophe that demands immediate and coordinated international response.”
“With this latest shipwreck, the total has risen even further, reinforcing the urgent need for strengthened regional cooperation,” the IOM said. “We must expand safe and regular migration pathways and strengthen search and rescue operations to prevent further loss of life.”
The Central Mediterranean route — which runs from North Africa, particularly Libya and Tunisia, to southern Europe — has long been considered the deadliest migration route in the world. Since 2014, more than 25,600 people have died or gone missing attempting the crossing. Many of these victims, like the Nigerians involved in this latest tragedy, are desperate migrants fleeing poverty, conflict, persecution, and economic hardship in their home countries.
Migration experts have attributed the high death toll to several factors, including the long and treacherous sea journey, the growing involvement of smuggling networks that exploit vulnerable migrants, and inadequate search-and-rescue capabilities in the region. Many humanitarian organisations have also decried new restrictions placed on non-governmental groups engaged in sea rescue missions, arguing that such policies have further endangered lives.
“The high death toll is a result of increasingly dangerous smuggling practices, limited rescue capacity, and tighter restrictions on humanitarian operations,” said a senior IOM official in Tripoli. “Smugglers continue to overload migrants into unseaworthy rubber boats, often without sufficient fuel, food, or navigation tools.”
The IOM explained that these overcrowded and flimsy inflatable boats are prone to capsizing even under moderate weather conditions. Compounding the problem is the fact that smugglers often launch several vessels simultaneously to overwhelm coastal patrols, making search and rescue operations exceedingly difficult.
In recent months, European governments have come under pressure to do more to prevent such tragedies. Human rights advocates have called for stronger migration policies that prioritize saving lives over deterrence. However, political tensions over migration within the European Union have hampered the development of a unified response.
The latest tragedy involving Nigerian victims has once again drawn attention to the worsening Japa phenomenon — the growing wave of young Nigerians fleeing the country in search of better opportunities abroad, often through dangerous and illegal routes. Analysts say that economic hardship, insecurity, and unemployment continue to push many Nigerians into the hands of human traffickers and smugglers who promise them safe passage to Europe but often abandon them to their fate in the desert or at sea.
Commenting on the growing trend, an Abuja-based migration analyst, Dr. Raymond Okoye, said, “What we are witnessing is a humanitarian disaster driven by desperation. Many of these migrants do not fully understand the risks involved. They are deceived by smugglers into believing that Europe is just a few hours away by boat. The reality is that thousands never make it.”
Dr. Okoye added that the Nigerian government must intensify efforts to create employment opportunities and expand awareness campaigns to discourage irregular migration. “The loss of two Nigerians in this latest tragedy is another painful reminder that we are losing our young people in preventable circumstances,” he said.
The IOM has continued to call for greater investment in safe, legal migration pathways, alongside stronger international coordination to crack down on human smuggling networks. “IOM upholds that humane and orderly migration benefits both people on the move and society as a whole,” the agency reiterated.
Humanitarian groups, including Doctors Without Borders and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), have joined in calling for an urgent review of migration policies in Libya and across the Mediterranean. Libya, which remains a major departure point for migrants attempting to reach Europe, has long been criticized for its handling of refugees, including reports of arbitrary detention, abuse, and extortion by local militias and traffickers.
“This is not just a Mediterranean crisis; it is a global moral crisis,” said UNHCR spokesperson Marta Alvarez. “Every time a boat sinks, it reminds us that the world is failing to provide safe alternatives for people who are running from war, hunger, and despair.”
As search operations continue off the Libyan coast, the fate of the missing 42 passengers — including the two Nigerians — remains uncertain. But the IOM warns that without urgent international intervention, more lives will be lost in the weeks ahead.
“The Mediterranean should not be a graveyard for the desperate,” the agency said. “Every life lost at sea is one too many.”
For now, the survivors — among them the two Nigerians — are receiving medical attention and temporary shelter in Libya. But their future remains uncertain, as most rescued migrants are often detained or repatriated, facing the same socio-economic conditions that led them to embark on the perilous journey in the first place.
The tragedy, experts say, serves as yet another grim reminder of the human cost of irregular migration — a crisis that continues to claim lives in the world’s deadliest waters.
