Tripoli: At least four people have died after two boats carrying nearly 100 migrants capsized off the coast of Libya, rescue workers have reported. The Libyan Red Crescent confirmed that the deceased were passengers in a boat carrying 26 Bangladeshi nationals.

According to BBC, the humanitarian group has not yet confirmed any fatalities among passengers of a second boat, which was carrying around 70 individuals, mostly from Sudan. These boats were navigating the central Mediterranean route between North Africa and Italy, known as the "deadliest known migration route in the world" by the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The boats departed from Al Khums, a port city in northwestern Libya, as stated by the organization. The Libyan Red Crescent shared images depicting their crew providing aid to survivors and black body bags on the ground.

Every year, hundreds of individuals perish while attempting to cross to southern Europe in overcrowded and perilous boats. Data from the IOM indicates that more than 1,500 people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean in 2025, with approximately one-third of these incidents occurring off Libya's coast.

The North African nation is the departure point for the majority of the nearly 59,000 individuals who have reached Europe this year via the central Mediterranean route, as reported by Frontex, the European Union's border security agency. Earlier this week, dozens of migrants who embarked on a small boat in Libya went missing and are presumed dead after their vessel capsized in the Mediterranean.

Seven survivors, hailing from Sudan, Somalia, Cameroon, and Nigeria, were rescued after being adrift at sea for nearly a week.