A rubber boat carrying 55 people, including two babies, overturned off Libya's coast. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported only two Nigerian women survived. They were rescued by Libyan authorities on Friday. The boat sank about six hours after leaving al-Zawiya, a coastal city in north-west Libya. The passengers were migrants from various African countries. The IOM said nearly 500 migrants have died or gone missing trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Libya in 2026 so far. Libya is a key departure point for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa aiming for Europe since the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi. According to survivors, the boat left al-Zawiya around 11 PM local time and capsized early Friday near Zuwara. It is not clear why news took time to surface. One survivor lost her husband, the other lost two babies. Both received emergency medical help from IOM teams. January alone saw at least 375 migrants dead or missing in the central Mediterranean. Many shipwrecks remain "invisible," with the real death toll believed higher. Despite dangers, migrants keep crossing. Conditions in Libya for migrants are harsh. UN rights officials report torture, trafficking, forced labour, and abuse by militias and others. IOM says traffickers force people onto unsafe boats, pushing death rates higher. They urge global action to break smuggling networks and create safe migration routes. Many sunken boats go unreported, leaving families in the dark. Countries including the UK, Spain, Norway, and Sierra Leone demand Libya close detention centers where migrants face torture and killings. For more updates, visit BBCAfrica.com and follow @BBCAfrica on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.