At Least 60 Migrants, Including Pakistanis, Feared Dead in Libya Shipwrecks

At least 60 migrants, including Pakistanis, are feared dead following two shipwrecks off the coast of Libya over the past week, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

The first shipwreck reportedly occurred on June 12 near a Libyan port in Tripoli. Out of 26 people on board, 21, including women and children, are missing, with only five survivors found. Those lost included Eritrean, Pakistani, Egyptian, and Sudanese nationals.

The second shipwreck happened about 35 kilometres off the port city of Tobruk, where a lone survivor reported 39 people lost at sea.

Othman Belbeisi, IOM’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, urged the international community to scale up search and rescue operations and ensure safe disembarkation for survivors, highlighting the anguish of entire families affected by these tragedies.

This year alone, at least 743 people have died attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, with the central Mediterranean route being particularly perilous due to dangerous smuggling practices, limited rescue capacity, and restrictions on humanitarian operations.

The incidents add to a growing number of Pakistani migrants who have drowned in recent months while attempting to reach Europe through Libya, prompting religious authorities in Pakistan to issue edicts against using illegal means to travel abroad, emphasizing the prohibition of actions that threaten life under Islamic law.