Two Babies Among 53 Dead or Missing After Migrant Boat Capsizes Off LibyaGeneva/Tripoli, 9 February 2026 – Fifty-three 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) Spokesperson said on Monday. IOM mourns the loss of life in yet another deadly incident along the Central Mediterranean route. According to survivor accounts, the boat – carrying migrants and refugees of African nationalities departed from Al-Zawiya, Libya, at around 11:00 p.m. on 5 February. According to IOM’s Missing Migrants Project, more than 1,300 migrants have gone missing in the Central Mediterranean in 2025. The latest incident brings the number of migrants reported dead or missing on the route in 2026 to at least 484.
