Libya Maritime Disaster: Dozens Missing, Four Bangladeshis Confirmed Dead

At least four Bangladeshi migrants have died after two boats carrying asylum seekers and undocumented travellers capsized off the coast of Libya. The Libyan Red Crescent confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Saturday, reporting that the tragedy occurred late on Thursday night near the coastal city of Al-Khums, approximately 118 kilometres east of Tripoli.

According to the Red Crescent, the first vessel was carrying 26 migrants from Bangladesh. Four of them were found dead, while the remaining passengers were rescued and provided with medical assistance. Several survivors were reportedly in critical condition and required hospital treatment.

A second boat, carrying 69 migrants, also capsized around the same time. Among its passengers were two Egyptians, numerous Sudanese nationals and individuals from other African countries. The fate of most passengers remains unclear, and rescue teams are still searching the surrounding waters. The Red Crescent noted that eight children were on board this vessel.

Summary of Key Details

Images released by the Red Crescent show bodies wrapped in plastic sheets lying in rows, while other photographs depict volunteers assisting survivors with emergency treatment. In several photos, rescued migrants sit huddled together on the ground, wrapped in blankets to shield themselves from the cold.

Libya has become one of the most perilous transit routes for migrants attempting to reach Europe since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, which plunged the country into prolonged conflict and economic collapse. Human traffickers frequently exploit desperate migrants by sending them across the Mediterranean in unsafe, overcrowded boats.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported earlier in the week that another rubber dinghy capsized near the Al-Bouri oil field, leaving at least 42 migrants missing, who are feared dead. In mid-October, 61 bodies were recovered from the western coast of Tripoli. In September, at least 50 Sudanese refugees were killed when a fire broke out on a migrant boat off the Libyan coast.

During a United Nations meeting in Geneva last week, the United Kingdom, Spain, Norway, Sierra Leone and several other nations urged Libya to immediately close its notorious detention centres, where human rights groups have documented severe abuse, torture and even killings of migrants.

Khaborwala/SJ