A rubber boat carrying 55 people capsized off the coast of Libya, resulting in at least 53 people, including two babies, dead or missing. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that the boat overturned north of Zuwara, Libya, on February 6. IOM teams helped two survivors with emergency medical care after they disembarked, working with local authorities. Survivors said the vessel carried refugees and migrants from African countries. The boat left Zawia, Libya, around 11 pm on February 5 and capsized about six hours later. According to IOM’s Missing Migrants Project, over 1,300 people have gone missing on the central Mediterranean route in 2025. This latest disaster brings the number of reported dead or missing migrants on this route this year to at least 484. The IOM noted, “In January alone, at least 375 migrants were reported dead or missing following multiple ‘invisible’ shipwrecks in the Central Mediterranean amid extreme weather, with hundreds more deaths believed to be unrecorded.” The organization added, “These repeated incidents underscore the persistent and deadly risks faced by migrants and refugees attempting the dangerous crossing.”