At least four people have died after two boats carrying nearly 100 migrants capsized off the coast of Libya on Saturday, rescue workers have reported.
The Libyan Red Crescent confirmed that those who died were passengers on a boat consisting of 26 Bangladeshi nationals. It remains unclear whether there are additional casualties among the approximately 70 passengers on a second boat that sank, primarily carrying Sudanese individuals.
The boats were navigating the central Mediterranean route between North Africa and Italy, noted as the 'deadliest known migration route in the world' by the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Departing from Al Khums, a port city in northwestern Libya, the boats' ill-fated journey highlights the ongoing humanitarian crisis faced by those attempting the perilous Mediterranean crossing. The Libyan Red Crescent shared images of its crew providing aid to survivors, along with photos of black body bags.
Each year, hundreds perish while attempting the crossing in overcrowded and unsafe vessels. In 2025, more than 1,500 people have reportedly died or gone missing in the Mediterranean, with a third of those cases occurring off Libya's coast.
According to Frontex, the European Union's border security agency, Libya serves as the departure point for most of the nearly 59,000 persons who have reached Europe this year via the central Mediterranean route.
Recent reports indicated that earlier this week, dozens of migrants who had boarded a small vessel in Libya were missing and presumed dead after it capsized. Seven survivors from Sudan, Somalia, Cameroon, and Nigeria were rescued after being lost at sea for nearly a week.
