Geneva – The United Nations Migration Agency said on Monday that 53 people are dead or missing after a boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the Libyan coast. Only two survivors were saved.

The International Organization for Migration said the boat capsized on Friday north of Zuwar, a town on Libya’s northwest coast about 280 miles from the Italian island of Lampedusa, which many migrants try to reach by boat from the African coast.

“Only two Nigerian women were rescued during the search and rescue operation by the Libyan authorities,” the IOM statement said, adding that one of the survivors said she lost her husband and the other “lost her two babies in the tragedy.”

IOM said its teams provided emergency medical care to the two survivors after disembarking.

“According to survivors, the ship — which was carrying migrants and refugees of African nationalities — set sail from Al-Zawiya in Libya on February 5 at around 11:00 p.m. About six hours later, it capsized after entering the water,” the agency said. “IOM deplores the loss of life in yet another fatal incident along the Central Mediterranean Route.”

The Geneva-based agency said smuggling and smuggling networks were exploiting migrants along the route from North Africa to southern Europe, cashing in on the perilous crossing in unseaworthy boats while subjecting people to “severe abuse”.

It called for stronger international cooperation to address the problem of networks, along with safe and regular migration routes to reduce risks and save lives.

According to IOMat least 375 migrants were reported dead or missing after shipwrecks in the central Mediterranean in January alone, and hundreds more deaths are believed to be unaccounted for.

“These repeated incidents highlight the persistent and deadly risks faced by migrants and refugees attempting the perilous crossing,” the UN agency said, adding that more than 1,300 migrants have gone missing in the central Mediterranean in 2025, and this year’s total as of Monday was at least 484.