Record number of migrant deaths in Mediterranean for early 2026

2026-03-19 - 07:41

File image of a boat washed ashore at Marinella di Selinunte, Sicily, used by dozens of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea. (EPA Images pic) PARIS: The first two months of 2026 saw a record number of migrant deaths in the Mediterranean, despite fewer crossing attempts towards Europe, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). At least 655 people died or went missing in January and February — more than double the 287 recorded for the same period last year. NGOs and researchers said the reasons were multiple: storms, complications for rescue operations and border closures. Frontex, the EU’s border control agency, last week blamed the high fatality count on “extreme weather conditions” over that period, such as Cyclone Harry, which struck the Mediterranean region in mid-February. Frontex, which hailed the decrease in irregular crossings over the two months, also pointed the finger at people smugglers it said were putting migrants to sea on flimsy craft. Arnaud Banos, a researcher at France’s CNRS science body who specialises in migration by sea, argued that “the more we apply pressure to prevent departures, the more we create ideal conditions for smugglers”, heightening the risks for migrants. Italy’s agreements with Tunisia and Libya to have them hold back migrants intent on reaching Europe have also boosted smuggling networks, which turned to operating farther from the usual towns and cities used as launching-off points, he said. “The crossings become longer, and they are very exposed to winds and strong currents. Those routes certainly are less watched, but the boats used are also less visible to rescuers,” Banos said. He added that the land route into Europe, through the Balkans, “is practically sealed shut, so the sea is the only route left”. “In the end, what we’re doing is increasing risk. The more we say we want to secure our borders for humanitarian reasons, the more we increase the danger. It’s an endless loop.” NGOs also condemn what they say are obstacles put in the way of the rescue operations they mount at sea, from red tape to new roles on where they can dock with rescued migrants. “Italian authorities are assigning us a port of safety now, quite immediately after a first rescue, that are sometimes over a thousand kilometres away,” explained Giulia Messmer, spokeswoman for Sea-Watch. “It means that we are actively forced or demanded to ignore other cases of distress in the vicinity, and this is a complete violation of international law,” she said. She said the German NGO was lobbying for a “European search-and-rescue programme that takes care of people in distress”. She also said that Libyan militias “are actively shooting at people in distress at sea”. Another reason pushing migrants into rickety boats, charities say, is the shrinking opportunities for legal pathways into Europe. Germany, famously, took in around a million Syrian, Afghan and Iraqi refugees in 2015. But since then, Berlin has tightened its rules around family reunions and on obtaining German citizenship. Britain has announced the end of study visas for Afghans, Cameroonians, Burmese and Sudanese. “What Frontex doesn’t say is that these criminal networks step in where there is a demand, because living conditions are so terrible in the countries of origin and there are no legal means to come,” said Filippo Furri, an anthropologist who co-wrote a book on the deaths in the Mediterranean. The EU border agency only counts people arriving at the bloc’s outer borders, “not the number of departures” trying to reach Europe, he said. The number of deaths counted of people trying to make the crossing is “well below the reality”, he said.