In a new episode of the series of human tragedies in the Mediterranean, the International Organization for Migration announced on Monday a new maritime disaster that resulted in the loss and death of at least 53 people, after a boat carrying them sank off the Libyan coast, in an attempt to reach European shores.
Details of the horrific incident
The organization explained in an official statement that the ill-fated boat capsized north of the Libyan city of Zuwara on February 6. Reports indicated that search and rescue operations carried out by Libyan authorities resulted in the survival of only two people, both Nigerian women, suggesting that the remaining passengers likely drowned in the Mediterranean Sea.
Rescue teams relayed harrowing accounts from the two survivors, one of whom sadly recounted how she lost her husband who was accompanying her on the journey, while the other experienced an even greater tragedy with the loss of her two infant children who were swallowed by the waves during the disaster, highlighting the heavy price paid by migrants in search of a better life.
Libya: A Dangerous Gateway
This incident underscores once again the complex security and humanitarian situation in Libya, which has for years become a major departure point for irregular migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East seeking to reach Europe via Italy. Human traffickers exploit the political division and the lack of complete security control along the coast to organize perilous journeys using dilapidated boats ill-equipped for long-distance crossings.
The Mediterranean Death Road
The Central Mediterranean route, linking Libya and Italy, is considered the world's most dangerous migration route. According to data from the United Nations and human rights organizations, thousands have lost their lives in this waterway in recent years. International organizations face significant challenges in monitoring and rescue operations, given the frequent drownings that often occur without witnesses or survivors to document them.
The International Organization for Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees have consistently called for strengthening search and rescue mechanisms in the Mediterranean and finding legal and safe migration pathways to reduce the occurrence of such disasters that claim the lives of innocent women, children and young people who usually flee from conflicts and extreme poverty in their countries of origin.
