A boat carrying 33 Sudanese migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea near Tobruk, Libya, killing at least 17 people and leaving nine missing, UN officials say.
Cairo– A boat carrying 33 Sudanese migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea near the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk, killing at least 17 people and leaving nine others missing, UN officials said Thursday.
The UN refugee agency told X that only seven of those on board survived.
It was not clear when the boat overturned.
The UN International Organization for Migration, or IOM, said that when the survivors were rescued, they had been stranded at sea for several days and some migrants had died of hunger and thirst.
The IOM said the boat had taken off from Tobruk and was heading towards Greece when it capsized about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of the city. The rescue operation was carried out by the navy, the Libyan coast guard and the Libyan Red Crescent, the agency said.
The Libyan Red Crescent posted photos of the rescue on Thursday showing crew members carrying several bodies in black bags.
The medical conditions of the survivors were not immediately known.
Libya has been a Main transit point for migrants Fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. The country plunged into chaos after a 2011 uprising overthrew and killed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Earlier this month, more than 80 migrants went missing After a boat sailing from a coastal city in Libya sank in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.
The IOM said in early April that 2026 had seen its deadliest start to the year for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea since 2014. 765 deaths have been reported in the central Mediterranean alone, an increase of almost 150% compared to the same period last year.
IOM Director-General Amy Pope told The Associated Press earlier this month that the agency was seeing increasing numbers of migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sudan arriving on boats in the Mediterranean Sea.
