At least 56 people have died in a series of shipwrecks off Senegal and Greece over the weekend, a stark reminder of the deadly risks migrants face on the Atlantic and Mediterranean routes, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said today.
"These were mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, people who left home hoping for a better life," said IOM Director General Amy Pope. "Smugglers and traffickers charged them for a dangerous journey on boats that were not fit for the sea. These networks profit from desperation, and every day they operate, more lives are put at risk. Countries must go after them together and give people safe, legal ways to move. Our hearts are with every family waiting for news."
Off the coast of northwestern Senegal, at least 34 people died on Friday 6 November when a boat carrying migrants capsized near Loumpoul between Dakar and Saint-Louis. According to Senegalese authorities and public reports, one survivor was rescued while an unknown number of people remain missing. Search operations are ongoing and the reported death toll remains provisional.
In separate incidents south of Crete, Greece, at least 22 people lost their lives after two migrant boats departing from eastern Libya encountered distress at sea. Greek authorities reported that 28 Sudanese migrants were rescued from one incident, while eight bodies were recovered and several people were reported missing. In a second incident, 18 survivors were rescued and 14 bodies recovered after a vessel was spotted in distress by a cargo ship.
These incidents occurred on migration routes that continue to exact a heavy humanitarian toll. Rising arrivals along the eastern Libya-Crete route this year, coupled with gaps in search and rescue capacity, are heightening humanitarian concerns over the risks faced by people making the journey.
IOM has recorded at least 454 deaths and disappearances in 2026 as of 26 October on the Western African Atlantic Route alone. The figures remain minimum estimates, as many boats disappear without survivors or trace.
Recent shifts in migration patterns on the Western African Atlantic Route have seen departures increasingly dispersed southward toward The Gambia, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, lengthening journeys and exposing migrants to greater risks at sea. At the same time, movements continue across the Mediterranean, where dangerous crossings continue to result in loss of life.
IOM reiterates its call for sustained cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination, including coordinated search and rescue efforts, support for survivors and families of the missing, stronger action against migrant smuggling networks, and expanded safe and regular pathways for migration.
