This section documents the deaths and disappearances along the Central Mediterranean, while recognizing that countless shipwrecks remain invisible, boats that vanished without a trace. Behind every number lies a name, a story, and a family torn apart by the border regime. This section bears witness to loss and disappearance, keeping alive a collective record of accountability against forgetting.
October 2025
10th of October
During the past week, Libyan authorities conducted a coastal survey stretching from Zuwara to Ras Ajdir, where the remains of at least fifteen refugees were discovered. Among them were three bodies in Mellitah and twelve in Zuwara (Refugees in Libya).
17th of October
On the 16th of October, a boat capsized in the Maltese SAR zone 50 miles away from Lampedusa, 11 people were rescued to Lampedusa by the Italian coast guards and 39 people are missing and one body was recovered. The people departed from Sfax, Tunisia (Refugees in Libya, Alarm phone)
19th of October
Rescued 16 miles from Lampedusa, two people had already arrived lifeless, fourteen are hospitalized in serious condition, apparently due to hydrocarbon poisoning (Mediterranea)
23rd of October
At least 40 migrant people died off the coast of Tunisia in the shipwreck of the boat on which they were traveling toward a better future (press)
28th of October
A shipwreck off the coast of Sabratha has caused the deaths of 18 people who were fleeing the horrors and death in Libya toward Europe (Refugees in Libya). Seabird, the Sea-Watch aircraft sighted a wooden boat. The people were rescued by the Italian Coast Guard. For 4 of them, however, help arrived too late, they had died suffocated below deck (Sea Watch).
August 2025
8th of August
Three people went missing from a drifting boat near Lampedusa. After an exhausting and long journey at sea, the three people threw themselves into the water hoping to reach a distant boat. 2 Guineans and one Cameroonian minor drowned (Angela Caponnetto)
13th of August
Two boats capsized on the 13th of August, 14 miles away from Lampedusa. The Italian coast guard rescued 61 people. 20 people remained missing and 27 people died, their bodies later recovered from the sea (press)
20th of August
Alarm Phone was alerted to 32 people in distress in Egyptian SAR. The day after, Alarm Phone learnt their boat was shipwrecked. Authorities have told Alarm Phone they are searching, but all people are still missing (Alarm Phone)
23rd of August
The sailing vessel NADIR operated by the organization RESQSHIP rescued 65 people from an overcrowded and flooded rubber boat in the Central Mediterranean after an alert from Alarm Phone. During the evacuation, survivors discovered the bodies of three sisters aged 9, 11 and 17 who had drowned in the water inside the boat. Another person is reported missing (ResQship)
30th of August
Alarm Phone was alerted to a group of 47 people who fled from Sfax, Tunisia and who were shipwrecked early morning of the 30th of August (Alarm Phone)
September 2025
1st of September
Alarm Phone alerted about a boat in distress heading to Crete. 34 people were onboard of the boat and were rescued by a merchant vessel, the ANATOLIA. However, one person remains missing (Alarm Phone)
2nd of September
A man was found dead during the rescue of a 10-meter boat carrying a total of 51 migrants, by Italian coast guards. The man is believed to have died from inhaling hydrocarbons (press). 41 people were stranded at sea for 6 days on the Merchant vessel Maridive 208 and no European country intervened. On the 2nd of September, the Aurora crew rescued them. Seven persons are now missing (Sea Watchv)
8th of September
Around 80 people were brought back to Libya and rushed to Surman Hospital after their boat capsized off Sabratha (press, Alarm Phone)
13th of September
About 60 people drowned off Libya. A boat with reportedly 74 people capsized off Tobruk. The people were mostly Sudanese refugees. Only 13 people survived and 1 body was recovered (Alarm Phone, UNHCR Libya)
16th of September
A boat carrying 75 Sudanese refugees caught fire off Libya’s coast on 14 Sep. At least 50 lives were lost, and 24 people survived the shipwreck (IOM). A woman died during the shipwreck of an iron boat 83 km off Lampedusa (Sea Watch).
July 2025
7th of July
Three bodies were found on Sunday, July 6, 2025, about three kilometers inside territorial waters off the coast of the village of Zureik, near Misratah, Libya (press)
10th of July
One person missing in the central Mediterranean 37 people, who fled from Tobruk in Libya, contacted Alarm Phone when in distress at sea. They were adrift in the Egyptian SAR zone. Eventually, a merchant vessel rescued them. However, one person went overboard (Alarm phone)
11th of July
A boat carrying 63 migrants left Sfax, Tunisia, on July 8 and drifted after running out of fuel. Frontex spotted the vessel on July 11 and alerted both European and Tunisian authorities. When the Tunisian and Italian Coast Guards arrived, several migrants jumped into the sea to avoid being taken back to Tunisia. Five people drowned or went missing, 33 were intercepted and deported, and 27 reached Lampedusa alive (Maldusa)
24th of July
10 migrants were rescued by the Libyan coast guards off the coast of Tobruk, Libya. According to survivors, the boat was carrying 81 persons on board. 18 bodies have also been recovered (press)
29th of July
On the 28th of July, Sea-Watch spotted a boat in distress and alerted authorities. The day after, the boat capsized during a rescue operation conducted by a Merchant vessel. According to survivors, two children died and one person is missing (Sea Watch)
31st of July
NADIR located a boat in high risk of sinking, after being informed by the plane of Sea-Watch. The survivors reported that over a dozen people had gone overboard, and saw one person drowning. Hours later the NADIR crew was able to rescue 12 more survivors from the water. 3 people are believed to be still missing (Nadir)
