18 migrants die as boat sinks off Libya’s coast

A boat carrying 130 migrants, including 18 women and 6 girls, from Egypt, Eritrea, and Sudan, departed from Libya at 4:00 a.m. on August 26, 2025, attempting to reach Europe. [Joan Galvez/Anadolu via Getty Images]

Eighteen people have died after a boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of Sorman, north-west Libya, on Tuesday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced.

The boat reportedly capsized only a few hours after leaving the city of Al-Zawiya, due to rough waves in the area.

According to the IOM, 64 people were rescued, including 29 Sudanese men, one Sudanese woman and child, 18 Bangladeshis, 12 Pakistanis, and three Somalis.

The nationalities of those who died have not yet been confirmed.

The central Mediterranean route remains one of the world’s most dangerous migration paths. The IOM’s Missing Migrants Project has recorded 1,046 deaths and disappearances since the beginning of 2025, including 527 off the Libyan coast.

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