The Libyan Attorney General’s office announced on Monday the deaths of 38 undocumented migrants – Egyptians, Ethiopians and Sudanese amongst them – after a dilapidated boat carrying them from the coast of Tobruk in eastern Libya to the northern Mediterranean Sea sank, RT reported.
In a statement, the office explained that a human trafficking gang sent a group of migrants on an unsafe boat, which sank before reaching its destination.
The statement added that the prosecutor at the Tobruk Primary Court conducted a comprehensive investigation that identified those involved in coordinating the smuggling operation and seized 300,000 Libyan dinars gained through trafficking.
The investigation also identified those responsible for illicit financial flows through unlicensed financial institutions.
The investigator ordered the arrest of the gang members and their appearance before the prosecution, while efforts are underway to identify the victims and notify their families.
This incident is the latest in a series of tragedies involving illegal immigration that claim the lives of hundreds annually in the Mediterranean Sea, amid repeated warnings from authorities and international organizations about the dangers of using unseaworthy boats and the exploitation of migrants by smuggling gangs.
Libya, particularly its eastern coastline including the city of Tobruk, is a major departure point for boats carrying irregular migrants to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea.
These routes often end in tragedy due to the use of dilapidated vessels and the exploitation of desperate migrants by smuggling gangs.
According to reports from the International Organization for Migration, the number of deaths and disappearances in the Mediterranean Sea exceeded 1,000 in 2026, as the flow of migrants from Africa and the Middle East continues.
