Wednesday July 15, 2026
Nairobi (AX) — A wooden boat carrying migrants across the Mediterranean capsized off Libya’s eastern coast Tuesday, killing at least 50 people, including women and children, according to two security sources.
Rescuers saved 10 survivors near El-Bardaa Island, roughly 70 kilometers west of Tobruk and close to the Egyptian border.
The vessel had about 60 migrants aboard, from several sub-Saharan African countries, the sources said. Those who survived told authorities the boat departed early Tuesday morning.
The security sources requested anonymity.
Libya remains a key departure and transit point for migrants escaping conflict and poverty in hopes of reaching Europe, despite the perilous desert journey and Mediterranean crossing. Migration through the country has grown since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that removed longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
In another case, security sources said rescue crews in Tobruk on Monday recovered four bodies and rescued 24 migrants from a boat that had drifted in Libyan waters for two weeks.
“The boat was carrying 28 migrants who faced extremely harsh humanitarian conditions aboard a dilapidated boat where four died because of that,” one source said.
Authorities transferred the survivors to a local hospital for treatment.
