The International Organization for Migration  (IOM) has reported that two Nigerians were saved, while two others lost their lives after a boat carrying 49 passengers overturned in the Mediterranean Sea.

According to the IOM, 42 individuals remain missing and are presumed dead, while seven people were rescued following a shipwreck near the Libyan coast — marking the latest deadly tragedy along the Central Mediterranean route.

Meanwhile, the IOM disclosed that, over 1,000 people have already perished in the Mediterranean in 2025 alone.

The Nigerians were among 49 migrants and refugees aboard a rubber boat that departed from Zuwara in northwest Libya around 3 a.m. on November 3, the IOM said, citing survivor accounts.

“The vessel capsized roughly six hours later after high waves caused the engine to fail,” the IOM said.

“All passengers — 47 men and two women — were thrown overboard.

“The boat drifted for six days before Libyan authorities rescued seven men — four from Sudan, two from Nigeria, and one from Cameroon — on November 8.

“The missing passengers include 29 from Sudan, eight from Somalia, three from Cameroon, and two from Nigeria.”

The agency said that its team “provided the survivors with emergency medical care, water, and food upon arrival at the disembarkation point in coordination with relevant authorities.”

The tragedy comes just weeks after other deadly incidents off Surman, Libya, and the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Latest data from the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project shows that the death toll in the Central Mediterranean has already surpassed 1,000 this year, while more people attempt the perilous sea journey to Europe.

“With this latest shipwreck, the total has risen even further, reinforcing the urgent need for strengthened regional cooperation,” the IOM said.

The organisation also called for “expanded safe and regular migration pathways and more effective search and rescue operations to prevent further loss of life.”

“IOM upholds that humane and orderly migration benefits both people on the move and society as a whole,” it said.

Since 2014, more than 25,600 people have died or gone missing in the Central Mediterranean — the world’s deadliest migration route — which stretches from North Africa to Italy.

The high death toll is attributed to several factors, including the length of the journey, increasingly dangerous smuggling patterns, limited search-and-rescue capacity, and restrictions on the work of non-governmental organisations saving lives at sea.

In addition, migrants often attempt the crossing in unseaworthy, overcrowded inflatable boats.

The IOM noted that because many unsafe vessels are launched simultaneously, it complicates ongoing search-and-rescue operations.