Rubber Boat Capsizes Off Libya: 53 Migrants Feared Dead, Including Two Babies

A rubber boat carrying 55 migrants and refugees, including two babies, has capsized off the coast of Libya, leaving only two survivors, the UN’s migration agency has said.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the survivors — two Nigerian women — were rescued by Libyan authorities on Friday. The boat had been carrying migrants from several African countries.

According to the IOM, the rubber dinghy departed the coastal city of al-Zawiya in north-western Libya at around 23:00 local time. About six hours into the journey, after taking on water, the boat overturned in the early hours of Friday north of the city of Zuwara.

One of the survivors told aid workers she lost her husband in the tragedy, while the other said her two babies had died. IOM teams provided both women with emergency medical care.

The agency said nearly 500 migrants have been reported dead or missing while attempting to cross the Mediterranean from Libya so far in 2026. At least 375 were reported dead or missing in January alone, following a series of what the IOM described as “invisible” shipwrecks during periods of extreme winter weather. The true death toll is feared to be higher.

Libya has become a major departure point for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa attempting to reach Europe since the fall of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Despite repeated tragedies, migrants continue to attempt the perilous crossing. Conditions for migrants inside Libya have been widely described as dire, with UN human rights officials warning of torture, trafficking, forced labour and extortion by both state and non-state actors, including militia groups.

The IOM says smuggling and trafficking networks continue to profit by forcing migrants onto overcrowded and unseaworthy vessels, contributing to the rising number of deaths at sea. The agency has called for stronger international cooperation to dismantle these networks and for the creation of safe and legal migration pathways.

Many boats that sink are never reported by smugglers, leaving families without answers as their loved ones simply disappear.

Several countries, including the UK, Spain, Norway and Sierra Leone, have urged Libya to shut down detention centres where rights groups say migrants have been tortured, abused or killed.