Four dead as boats carrying migrants capsize off Libyan coast
The Libyan Red Crescent has revealed that at least four people have died after two boats carrying 95 migrants capsized off the Libyan coastal city of Al Khums, according to The National via Reuters.
The incident occurred on November 13th and was announced on the Red Crescent’s Facebook page on November 15th.
One of the vessels was carrying 26 migrants from Bangladesh, with the other carrying 69 migrants of different nationalities, including two Egyptians and several Sudanese.
The humanitarian group published photographs showing a line of bodies inside plastic bags on the floor as volunteers provided first aid to victims who survived. Further images displayed rescued migrants wrapped in thermal blankets.
All four bodies were turned over to Libyan authorities at the request of prosecutors in Al Khums, according to the Red Crescent.
This incident occurred shortly after the United Nations announced that another boat carrying 49 migrants had capsized off the Libyan coast, with 42 people still missing.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) stated on November 12th that the number of migrants who have died crossing the Mediterranean has already surpassed 1,000 this year, according to Anadolu.
Since Libya’s late dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011, the North African country has quickly become a major transit route for migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe.
So far in 2025, 49,799 migrants have arrived on Italian shores from Libya, with a further 13,059 landing on the Greek island of Crete. Moreover, the IOM revealed that the amount of migrants held in Libyan detention centres has increased from 725,304 in 2024 to 867,055 in 2025.
The IOM clarified that the actual number of migrants may be much higher than the figure reported, stating that the number of Sudanese migrants alone could potentially exceed 800,000. However, the recent downturn in NGO operations within Libya has constrained data collection capacities.
The National via Reuters, Anadolu, Chatham House, Maghrebi.org
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