One dead, 22 missing as boat capsizes off Libyan coast

One boat capsized off the Libyan coast on Tuesday, leaving one person dead and 22 others missing, the news agency Associated Press (AP) reported on Wednesday (September 4), citing Libyan authorities. 

There were reportedly 32 people on board the boat which had sailed from the Bab al-Zaitoun area, 15 kilometers east of Tobruk, a port city on Libya’s eastern Mediterranean coast, near its border with Egypt. Nine people were rescued and taken to a port in Tobruk from where they were transported to a hospital. 

Citing Abreen, a local aid group that supports migrants in eastern Libya, AP reported that the people on board the boat were from Egypt and Syria. 

Earlier this week, the NGO Sea-Watch reported that it had rescued 129 people on board two boats who were suffering from lack of oxygen due to fuel vapors. The boats were spotted by Sea Bird, the aerial reconnaissance plane of Sea-Watch, and had reported departed from Libya?

Also read: Mediterranean Sea: 129 migrants rescued by an NGO, many suffering from “lack of oxygen” 

Main launchpad from Europe 

Libya, located in northern Africa, is separated by the Mediterranean from nearby European countries such as Greece, Spain, and Italy. Due to its location, Libya has emerged as a launch pad for people who want to attempt to make the treacherous journey crossing the Mediterranean Sea to enter Europe.

According to experts, Libya’s strategic location within North Africa and its political instability conflate to make it one of the most common routes of irregular migration to Europe.  

The northern part of Libya is about 1,776 kilometers from the coast of Italy. In the south, Libya’s porous borders make it accessible from sub-Saharan Africa.  

The political chaos and loose border controls make it easier to transit to Europe through Libya, compared to other Northern African countries.

Libya’s political instability was triggered by the ousting and death of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 by a NATO-led bombing campaign. Smugglers have profited from the political chaos since, while media reports widely documenting networks of smugglers moving people across borders from six nations including Egypt, Algeria, and Sudan.

Also read: Libya: Lack of law and order endangers and attracts migrants

Libya’s neighbor, Tunisia, also located at the northern tip of Africa, has similarly emerged as a popular transit point for irregular migrants.  

Both Libya and Tunisia have entered into partnerships with the European Union in a bid to stem irregular arrivals into Europe by crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

According to the latest International Organization for Migration (IOM) study on missing migrants, in 2023, at least 3,105 lives were lost in the Mediterranean, up from 2,411 in 2022. The majority of fatalities occurred on the Central Mediterranean route between North Africa and Italy, with 2,476 deaths and disappearances, compared to 1,417 in 2022.

The rise in deaths is likely tied to increased departures and shipwrecks off Tunisia’s coast, where 729 people died in 2023, up from 462 in 2022, the IOM said. Previously, most Central Mediterranean fatalities were concentrated off Libya’s coast. 

Also read: EU signs controversial migration agreements in Africa