50 dead after vessel carrying Sudanese refugees caught fire off Libya

The International Organization for Migration said on Tuesday that at least 50 people had died after a vessel carrying 75 Sudanese refugees caught fire off Libya's coast on Sunday.

The IOM said it had provided medical support to 24 survivors, reports Reuters.

Libya has become a transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe across the Mediterranean since the fall in 2011 of dictator Muammar Gaddafi during a NATO-backed uprising.

As of February 2025, around 867,055 migrants from 44 nationalities were residing in Libya, according to IOM data.

Reporting by Ahmed Elumami and Menna Alaa El Din, Writing by Jaidaa Taha; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Timothy Heritage