At least ten people have died after a migrant boat capsized in the central Mediterranean Sea roughly 45 nautical miles (83 kilometres) east-southeast of Malta. The vessel, which had departed from the Libyan coast carrying approximately 60 people, overturned on Sunday. A nearby fishing boat was able to pull around 48 survivors from the water, while the Italian coastguard dispatched a patrol boat to the area and recovered ten bodies. Search operations are continuing under the coordination of Maltese authorities, who requested assistance from Italy in the ongoing rescue effort.

The central Mediterranean route — the sea crossing between North Africa and the islands of Italy and Malta — is one of the most dangerous migration corridors in the world. According to the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM), at least 990 people have died attempting the Mediterranean crossing so far this year, making the early months of 2025 among the deadliest since 2014. Last year, at least 2,180 people died or went missing on the same waters. The latest capsize is one in a series of boat wrecks that have occurred as refugees and migrants continue to make desperate attempts to reach Europe from Libya, a primary departure point for those heading north.

Europe's response to the crossings has been shaped by a web of agreements with North African governments. The European Union has provided Libya with approximately €700 million since 2015, much of it directed toward border management, and Italy has long relied on cooperation with the Libyan coastguard — including training and equipment — to intercept departing vessels. Even so, the numbers attempting the journey remain substantial.

The deaths come as EU politicians and member states have been discussing a new framework that would allow governments to deport rejected asylum seekers to so-called "return hubs" outside the bloc. The plan, originally proposed by the European Commission last November, still requires formal approval. Meanwhile, tensions are rising inside Libya itself: hundreds of demonstrators protested this week outside the UN refugee agency's headquarters in the capital, Tripoli, accusing international bodies of seeking to settle undocumented migrants in the country. The UN's mission in Libya acknowledged Libyans' right to protest but warned against the spread of "misleading information and hate speech" about the UN's work there.