Over 20 migrants died off the coast of Greece after six days at sea in a rubber boat. Greek authorities arrested two men from South Sudan on suspicion of human smuggling in connection with the incident. Twenty-six people from the boat were rescued.
Survivors told authorities the boat set sail from Tobruk, Libya, on March 21, carrying 48 people. Those on board paid huge sums of money, amounting to £7,500, to be taken to Greece. During the journey, the passengers lost direction and remained at sea for six days without food and water. The survivors said the bodies of those who died were thrown into the sea on the order of one of the smugglers.
It's a strategy of silence.
Twenty-six people on the boat were rescued by a vessel from the EU border guard Frontex late Friday, not far off the coast of Crete. The survivors were 24 men, one woman, and a child, taken to Kali Limenes for treatment. Two survivors were taken to hospital in Heraklion on Crete.
At least 181 migrants are feared to have died in five different shipwrecks in the Mediterranean in the last ten days. Over 80 people are missing after the latest accident on Sunday, when a boat with about 120 migrants capsized after departing from Tajoura in northwestern Libya. In an earlier accident on April 1, 19 people were found dead on a boat off the Italian island of Lampedusa. So far this year, at least 990 people have died in accidents in the Mediterranean.
Europe should know that these people who got drowned in the sea have family members, have dreams, have passions.
The beginning of 2026 ranks as the deadliest start to any year for people trying to cross the Mediterranean, with 682 confirmed missing as of March 16. At least 655 people died or disappeared in the Mediterranean during the first two months of this year, more than double the same period last year.
Data challenges complicate the full picture, as at least 1,500 people were reported missing last year whose fates the IOM could not confirm. According to The Independent - Main, Julia Black described starting a new secondary data set of what the agency is calling unverifiable cases because it has become so many.
We started a new secondary data set of what we are calling unverifiable cases because it’s just become so many.
Italy, Tunisia, and Malta have quietly restricted information on migrant rescues and shipwrecks along the deadliest migration route in the world. According to The Independent - Main, Matteo Villa described this as a strategy of silence, highlighting concerns over transparency. According to The Independent - Main, Julia Black described seeing the restriction of access for humanitarian actors, which is not right, and now even the restriction of information.
The reasons behind these information restrictions remain unclear, with no official explanations from the governments involved. The exact total death toll for migrants in the Mediterranean in 2026 is also unknown, given the high number of unverifiable cases and invisible shipwrecks reported by the IOM. Additionally, the fate of over 1,000 people reported missing after Cyclone Harry hit the region in late January is uncertain, as authorities have not confirmed, denied, or corrected these reports.
We’ve seen the restriction of access for humanitarian actors, which is not right. And now we’re seeing even the restriction of information.
Beyond the two arrested smugglers from South Sudan, the identities and nationalities of all the migrants who died in the recent shipwreck off Greece are not publicly known. It is also unclear how many humanitarian organizations have been affected by funding cuts and government restrictions, and what impact this has on rescue operations and information gathering.
This escalation has profound implications for humanitarian challenges and data gaps in the migration crisis. According to The Independent - Main, Josephus Thomas described that Europe should know that these people who got drowned in the sea have family members, have dreams, have passions. The IOM noted that after three days at sea, the boat drifted wind for wave after engine failure, fuel shortage, and food shortage under difficult weather conditions. As deaths mount, the need for coordinated action and transparent reporting becomes ever more urgent to prevent further loss of life.