Hundreds of people are feared dead or missing after multiple migrant vessels set out across the central Mediterranean Sea amid the violent conditions unleashed by Cyclone Harry, the United Nations’ migration agency has warned. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and various coastguard authorities are now scrambling to piece together the scale of what could be one of the deadliest episodes in the route’s recent history, with rough seas hampering search and rescue efforts and exact casualty figures still unclear.
Italian authorities have estimated that up to 380 people may have drowned after small boats left North Africa — primarily Tunisia — for Europe during the storm, which battered southern Italy and Malta with severe winds and waves over the past week. In one confirmed shipwreck off the coast of Tunisia, only one person survived after clinging to wreckage for more than 24 hours at sea; the rest of those aboard — believed to number around 50 — are presumed dead.
The tragedy was compounded by reports from Lampedusa, Italy, where a separate overcrowded boat carrying families was struck by the storm. Among the presumed victims were one-year-old twin girls from Guinea, whose bodies have not been recovered but are believed to have perished along with others on board.
Over the past ten days there have been multiple incidents in the central Mediterranean, according to IOM spokespersons. Survivors have told authorities that several vessels left simultaneously from ports such as Sfax in Tunisia, but some never reached European waters and have not been heard from, leaving hundreds unaccounted for. In one report, a boat rescued near Malta may have lost at least 50 people when it sank, and another incident off the coast of Tobruk, Libya, is thought to have claimed dozens of lives.
IOM officials have condemned the criminal networks that organise these crossings, saying that dispatching unseaworthy and overcrowded vessels into a cyclone amounts to a “near-certain risk of death.” They have repeated calls for intensified action to dismantle smuggling operations and improve safer alternatives for those seeking refuge in Europe.
The ongoing storm has made rescue operations perilous, with rough seas slowing the Italian coastguard and other maritime responders. The coordination of efforts was further strained by restrictive policies from some governments that have limited the operations of NGO rescue vessels in recent months, critics say, reducing the number of lifelines available when disasters strike.
This latest spate of tragedies underscores the Mediterranean’s grim reputation as the deadliest migration corridor in the world. According to IOM data, thousands have died or disappeared on this route over the past decade, with more than 33,000 casualties recorded between 2014 and the end of 2025. In 2025 alone, at least 1,340 people lost their lives attempting the crossing — a figure that is likely to rise sharply with the recent incidents.
Humanitarian groups on the ground in Italy have begun providing medical assistance, trauma counselling and essential supplies to survivors who have reached shore after being rescued in the storm. They say the emotional and physical toll on those who survived is profound, highlighting the desperate circumstances that drive people to risk such perilous journeys in search of safety and a better life.
As authorities continue to search for missing vessels and tally the full human cost, the international community faces renewed pressure to address the underlying drivers of migration and to strengthen cooperative efforts that can prevent further loss of life in the Mediterranean.
