2 dead, 32 including Bangladeshi rescued as boat capsizes in Mediterranean Sea

At least 70 migrants are missing after a wooden boat carrying 105 passengers, including women and children, sank in the Mediterranean Sea on Sunday (April 5), reports The New York Times.

Italian coastguard teams rescued 32 survivors and recovered the bodies of two others.

All 32 survivors are men from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Egypt.

Survivors and the recovered bodies were transported to the Italian southern island of Lampedusa.

Accoding to the Italian Coastguard and NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans (MSH), severe weather and high waves caused the vessel to capsize. German monitoring group C-Watch coordinated aerial surveillance and rescue operations in the area.

According to MSH, the boat departed from Tajoura of Libya, carrying 105 passengers, including men, women, and children. It sank approximately 14 nautical miles northeast of Libya’s offshore Boure Oil Field, about 122 km from the Libyan coast.

MSH called on European countries to adopt safer migration policies and expressed condolences to the missing migrants.

UN data shows that 725 migrants have gone missing in the Mediterranean so far in 2026.

The Mediterranean remains a major but perilous route for migrants from North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia aiming for Europe, with thousands losing their lives each year.