A new deadly shipwreck has struck the central Mediterranean migration route. According to the non-governmental organizations Mediterranea Saving Humans and Sea-Watch , a boat carrying around one hundred passengers capsized during the Easter weekend.

A rising death toll

The wooden vessel, which left Tajoura (northern Libya) on Saturday afternoon, was carrying 105 people , including women and children. The current death toll is:

1. 32 survivors rescued.
2. Two lifeless bodies were recovered.
3. More than 70 people are reported missing .

The survivors were taken into care by two merchant ships before being disembarked Sunday morning on the Italian island of Lampedusa , a crucial but perilous entry point for exiles.

Images of distress at sea

The NGO Sea-Watch released images captured by its surveillance plane, the Sea-Bird 2. They show shipwrecked people desperately trying to cling to the overturned hull of the drifting boat before the arrival of commercial rescue services.

A context of persistent humanitarian crisis

This tragedy comes in the midst of an already particularly deadly year. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 683 migrants have already died or gone missing in this area since the beginning of 2026.

"This shipwreck is not a tragic accident, but the direct consequence of European policies that refuse to open safe and legal pathways," denounced the organization Mediterranea Saving Humans.

This text summarizes the facts while highlighting the responsibilities pointed out by humanitarian actors on the ground.