Dozens of people are missing after a migrant boat capsized in the central Mediterranean, the NGOs Mediterranea Saving Humans and Sea-Watch said Sunday on social media.
Two people died and 32 were rescued from the boat, which had left Libya on Saturday afternoon with around 105 people on board, according to Mediterranea Saving Humans.
“Tragic Easter shipwreck. 32 survivors, two bodies recovered and more than 70 people missing,” the NGO wrote on X, adding that the boat capsized in a search-and-rescue zone handled by Libyan authorities.
Sea-Watch said two commercial ships saved the survivors and took them to the Italian island of Lampedusa.
An aerial video it posted showed two men clinging to the hull of the capsized vessel, and the approach of one of the commercial ships.
Mediterranea Saving Humans said the accident was “the consequence of policies by European governments that refuse to open safe and legal pathways” for migrants.
Read moreDozens of migrants presumed dead after boat capsizes off Libyan coast
Lampedusa is a key entry point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe.
Since the start of 2026, at least 683 migrants have lost their lives or gone missing on attempts to cross the sea, according to the UN’s migration agency IOM.
According to the Italian government, 6,175 migrants arrived on Italian territory over the same period.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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