By Micah Jonah
January 27, 2026
Hundreds of migrants are feared dead or missing after attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea in recent days, following reports of multiple boat disasters linked to severe weather conditions, the United Nations migration agency has said.
The International Organization for Migration said several vessels may have gone missing over the past ten days after violent storms swept across the central Mediterranean, making rescue operations difficult, reducing survival chances for those at sea.
According to the agency, three people, including twin girls aged about one year, were confirmed dead after a rescue operation near Lampedusa, Italy, involving a boat that departed from Sfax in Tunisia. Their mother, who survived the journey, reportedly said the children died from hypothermia. A man from the same boat also died from the cold.
Survivors further reported that another boat departed at the same time but never reached its destination, and its whereabouts remain unknown.
The agency also said it was verifying reports from survivors rescued near Malta who claimed that at least 50 people may have died or gone missing in a separate shipwreck. In another incident, 51 people are feared dead after a boat capsized off the coast of Tobruk in eastern Libya.
The IOM described the use of overcrowded and unseaworthy boats by human traffickers as a criminal act and condemned the decision to send migrants to sea despite warnings of dangerous weather conditions.
The Organization noted that the Mediterranean remains the world’s deadliest migration route, warning that the final death toll from the recent incidents could be far higher than currently reported.
In 2025 alone, at least 1,340 people were confirmed to have died while attempting to cross the central Mediterranean, according to official figures from the migration agency.
Rescue agencies continue to monitor the situation as weather conditions gradually improve, but concerns remain that many victims may never be found.
