The rubber dinghy was one of more than 1,300 migrant boats that ran into trouble while trying to reach Europe by sea last year, according to figures provided by Alarm Phone. At least 3,812 people died or went missing in the attempt, the U.N. International Organization for Migration (IOM) says, nearly half of them along the central Mediterranean route used by the dinghy.
The crossing from North Africa to Italy or the island nation of Malta is one of the busiest routes into the European Union. It accounts for over a quarter of the more than 240,000 unauthorized arrivals detected last year, according to the EU border agency, Frontex. It is also one of the world’s most deadly maritime crossings, IOM says.
After a crackdown by European governments and partners in North Africa, irregular maritime crossings to the EU fell by more than a third last year, Frontex data shows, driven by a sharp drop in arrivals via the central Mediterranean.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, hailed the drop as evidence that their attempts to deter migrants from embarking on the perilous journey are bearing fruit.
“Reducing departures and crushing the traffickers’ business is the only way to reduce the number of migrants who lose their lives trying to reach Italy and Europe,” Meloni told lawmakers in March.
However, charities that carry out rescues at sea say the focus on deterrence puts migrants’ lives at risk. More distress calls are going unanswered following a scaling back of state-run search and rescue operations in the years since the height of the crisis, they say.
Rescue groups allege that asylum seekers have in some cases been pushed back from European borders, a practice the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) and European Court of Human Rights have declared illegal under international law.
They also point to restrictions imposed by Meloni’s government on the operations of non-governmental groups (NGOs) that carry out rescues, which they say reduce the time they can spend in the central Mediterranean. They include requirements that NGO vessels perform only one rescue at a time and bring the survivors to distant ports.
Meanwhile, smugglers in Libya and Tunisia have been packing migrants into smaller boats, increasing the risk to passengers in rough seas in a bid to evade detection, officials from Frontex and Alarm Phone told Reuters.
The dinghy’s ill-fated trip and the efforts to save it show the dangers.
A photograph taken from a plane owned by French rescue group Pilotes Volontaires shows the migrants in their rubber dinghy on August 15, 2024. Pilotes Volontaires/Handout via REUTERS
It took six hours for help to arrive.
Alarm Phone and two other charities, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and Pilotes Volontaires, provided copies of multiple emails they sent to regional maritime authorities about the stranded boat. But no coast guard or navy vessels responded to the migrants’ pleas for help, they said. It would be left to MSF’s ship, the Geo Barents, to mount a rescue.
“Deliberately keeping non-governmental search and rescue organisations away from the central Mediterranean causes countless more deaths at sea on one of the deadliest flight routes worldwide,” 32 aid and advocacy groups said in a July 17 statement.
Meloni has argued that the presence of rescue boats in the Mediterranean encourages migrants to embark on dangerous journeys, an assertion disputed by aid groups and IOM Director General Amy Pope.
“It just doesn’t correlate,” Pope said in a July interview with Reuters. She praised a recent decision by Italy to issue more work visas for non-EU nationals to address labour shortages, saying there is a need for safe and legal routes to migrate to Europe.
Meloni’s office and the Italian Coast Guard did not respond to questions for this article. Neither did authorities in Libya, Tunisia and Malta, which share responsibility with Italy for search and rescue operations in the central Mediterranean.
Guillaume Mercier, a European Commission spokesperson, said the EU takes a comprehensive approach on migration, including investing in strong border management, combating human traffickers, working with departure countries to reinforce their border management capacity, creating alternative legal pathways for migration and addressing the root causes of irregular migration.
“Our focus remains on protecting lives, fighting criminal networks, and ensuring that any operations at sea are conducted responsibly and in line with international obligations,” Mercier said.
Frontex spokesperson Chris Borowski said the agency keeps “an open line with civil society” and is enhancing its capacity to detect boats in distress, so it can give EU member states faster and more accurate information about such cases.
While Frontex does not have a mandate to run rescues, Borowski said, “We are often the first to spot a boat in trouble and the first to alert those who can help or even have one of our boats come to the rescue.”
Migratory routes
to Europe
More than 75,000 irregular border crossings into the European Union were
detected between January and June 2025.
Western
Mediterranean
route
Eastern
Mediterranean route
Central
Mediterranean route
Migratory routes
to Europe
More than 75,000 irregular border crossings into the European Union were
detected between January and June 2025.
Eastern
Mediterranean
route
Western
Mediterranean route
Central
Mediterranean route
Migratory routes
to Europe
More than 75,000 irregular border crossings into the European Union were
detected between January and June 2025.
Eastern Mediterranean route
Western
Mediterranean route
Central
Mediterranean route
Migratory routes
to Europe
More than 75,000 irregular border crossings into the European Union were
detected between January and June 2025.
Eastern Mediterranean route
Central
Mediterranean route
Western
Mediterranean route
Map showing main migratory routes to Europe, total irregular border crossings by route, and top 10 countries of origin with over 400 crossings.
Note: Total border crossings by route and top 10 countries of origin. Only countries with over 400 irregular crossings are shown.
Source: European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex)
Irregular migration has been a major political issue in Europe since more than 1 million people, many fleeing the war in Syria, poured across the EU’s southern borders in rickety boats a decade ago, catching member states off-guard. Anger over the issue helped fuel the rise of hard-right parties in a number of countries, including Meloni’s party in Italy.
The EU and member states have taken steps to secure their external borders, speed up deportations of those not eligible to remain, crack down on smugglers and increase cooperation with countries of origin and transit to stem departures.
Irregular border crossings
into the EU since 2015
A record number of migrants arrived in Europe in 2015, many of them
fleeing war in Syria.
Irregular border crossingsinto the EU
since 2015
A record number of migrants arrived in Europe in 2015, many of them
fleeing war in Syria.
A record number of migrants arrived in Europe in 2015, many of them
fleeing war in Syria.
Irregular border crossings
into the EU
Line graph showing irregular border crossings into the EU from 2015 to 2024, peaking at 1.8 million in 2015 and declining overall, with a brief rise in 2022-23.
Source: European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex)
Last year’s decline in irregular maritime crossings to the EU continued into this year. In the first six months of 2025, known arrivals by sea were down about 17% compared with the same period last year, the Frontex data shows. But central Mediterranean crossings were more than 13% higher, a development EU officials linked to increased departures from lawless Libya.
U.N. officials and humanitarian groups caution, however, that it is impossible to know exactly how many people attempt to cross the Mediterranean each year — or die trying.
Irregular border crossings via
the central Mediterranean
Deaths and disappearances
in the central Mediterranean
Irregular border crossings via
the central Mediterranean
Deaths and disappearances
in the central Mediterranean
Irregular border crossings via
the central Mediterranean
Deaths and disappearances
in the central Mediterranean
Deaths and disappearances
in the central Mediterranean
Irregular border crossings via
the central Mediterranean
Two charts showing irregular border crossings via the central Mediterranean and deaths and disappearances in the central Mediterranean.
Sources: Frontex, International Organization for Migration
The number of deaths and disappearances recorded by the IOM in the central Mediterranean surged 78% in 2023, the year after Meloni took office, reaching at least 2,526.
That year saw a jump in arrivals from Tunisia, where smugglers were using flimsy metal boats so unseaworthy they were “like coffins” in poor weather, Frontex spokesperson Borowski said. Smugglers would often launch a number of these boats simultaneously to overwhelm authorities, multiplying the risks, he said.
As arrivals fell in 2024, reports of deaths and disappearances dropped by more than a quarter. During the first six months of 2025, IOM recorded 588 cases, a 38% drop from the same period in 2024 and a 68% drop from 2023.
Migration researchers say it is impossible to know the true mortality rate in the central Mediterranean.
Frontex tracks the number of irregular border crossings detected by EU member states, but information on people intercepted by authorities in North Africa is patchy. Some migrants are turned back from Europe multiple times, while others slip across borders undetected.
The IOM’s Missing Migrants Project has been recording people reported dead or missing while trying to reach Europe since 2014, using information from authorities, news reports, charities, U.N. agencies and interviews with surviving migrants. But the supply of information is not consistent, said Julia Black, who coordinates the project.
Data on the central Mediterranean route is likely more complete because of a heavier presence of rescue groups, as well as stronger media coverage, she said. Other routes, including the roughly 2,000 km (1,240 mile) Atlantic Ocean route from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands, are likely more undercounted.
The departure
Reuters reconstructed the dinghy’s journey by interviewing two people who took part in the rescue and reviewing videos, photographs, emails and other records provided by the charities involved.
The dinghy’s departure from the Libyan city of Zawiya was nerve-wracking, a then-19-year-old passenger from Sierra Leone told MSF on condition of anonymity.
Libyan authorities intercepted another migrant boat that left from the same beach about 15 minutes before smugglers in military garb pushed their dinghy into the sea, he said in a video recorded by the medical charity.
The passengers were praying not to be sent back to Libya, he said. During a previous attempt in 2021, he said, Libyan authorities boarded his boat, confiscated passengers’ phones and beat them. He was detained for 16 days.
Reuters was unable to interview the migrant or verify his account. MSF does not maintain contact with those it rescues after they disembark.
Italy and the EU have struck deals with authorities in Libya, Tunisia and other countries to hold back migrants in exchange for financial support, equipment and training.
The number of migrants intercepted off the coast of Tunisia by local authorities more than doubled the year it signed an agreement with the EU in 2023, reaching around 81,000, according to the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights. Authorities there stopped releasing detailed figures the following year.
Libya is now the main jumping off point for those who make it to Italy, UNHCR says. Libyan authorities intercepted more than 21,000 migrants last year, according to figures reported to the IOM.
U.N. officials and human rights groups have criticised the arrangements, saying many of those intercepted are asylum seekers, and both Libya and Tunisia have a track record of abuses against migrants.
European officials say they provide training to partners to help ensure border management and rescue operations are carried out in line with international law.
“Ultimately, partner countries remain sovereign countries and responsible for their law enforcement bodies,” Mercier, the European Commission spokesperson, said. “Allegations of wrongdoing by security forces should be duly investigated by the competent national authorities.”
The migrants in the dinghy managed to evade the Libyan patrols but soon faced other dangers.
A map of Zawiya in Libya.
It was windy, the migrants told Alarm Phone. Waves that time of year can be up to around two metres high, according to modelling done by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Overloaded boats are slower and more prone to capsizing, the two maritime experts said. Drownings are the most common cause of migrant deaths recorded in the central Mediterranean, the IOM data shows.
Waves pose a major threat
In the Mediterranean, the waves are not as high on average as in the
ocean, but they can still be deadly.
Some waves can be twice as high as the average
and can break boats or flood them in seconds.
Average heights of waves in the Mediterranean across the seasons
A heavily overloaded boat sits lower
in the water and may become unstable
in large waves that can flood the boat.
Waves pose a major threat
In the Mediterranean, the waves are not as high on average as in the
ocean, but they can still be deadly.
Some waves can be twice as high as the average
and can break boats or flood them in seconds.
Average heights of waves in the Mediterranean across the seasons
A heavily overloaded boat sits lower
in the water and may become unstable
in large waves that can flood the boat.
Waves pose a major threat
In the Mediterranean, the waves are not as high on average as in the
ocean, but they can still be deadly.
Some waves can be twice as high as the average
and can break boats or flood them in seconds.
Average heights of waves in the Mediterranean across the seasons
A heavily overloaded boat sits lower
in the water and may become unstable
in large waves that can flood the boat.
Waves pose a major threat
Some waves can be twice as high as the average
and can break boats or flood them in seconds.
In the Mediterranean, the waves are not as high on average as in the
ocean, but they can still be deadly.
Average heights of waves in the Mediterranean across the seasons
A heavily overloaded boat sits lower
in the water and may become unstable
in large waves that can flood the boat.
Some waves can be twice as high as the average
and can break boats or flood them in seconds.
Waves pose a major threat
In the Mediterranean, the waves are not as high on average as in the
ocean, but they can still be deadly.
Average heights of waves in the Mediterranean across the seasons
A heavily overloaded boat sits lower in the
water and can become unstable in rough seas,
when large waves can flood the boat.
An illustration of seasonal wave heights.
Source: The EU’s Copernicus Programme, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
If all goes well, the boat trip from Libya to Lampedusa can take as little as seven hours, the maritime experts told Reuters. But if they encounter bad weather, get lost or run out of fuel, they can drift for days.
“The criminal groups that run these crossings prioritise profit over life” said Borowski, the Frontex spokesperson. “They overload unseaworthy boats, send them out with barely enough fuel and then abandon them.”
As many as 60 migrants died when another rubber dinghy’s engine broke down three days after departing from Zawiya in March last year, survivors told rescuers from SOS Mediterranee. The dinghy was adrift for nearly a week and ran out of food and water, according to the French charity, which said its rescue boat evacuated 25 survivors in coordination with the Italian coast guard.
Troops taking part in an EU military deployment in the Mediterranean have noted a reduction since around September 2023 in the use of fishing boats, which can carry hundreds of migrants.
“It is likely that Libyan authorities have prioritized inspections of fishing vessels forcing smugglers to switch to smaller vessels,” said a July 2024 report by the EU mission, known as Operation Irini. The report seen by Reuters was shared with EU officials but was not released publicly.
The boats being used now can be less than 10 metres long and carry as many as 70 migrants, Borowski said. They sink more often than the fishing boats, he said, but the toll is often lower, because they carry fewer passengers.
The rescue
International law imposes obligations on ships and coastal states to provide assistance to those in danger at sea.
The central Mediterranean is divided into four search and rescue (SAR) zones managed by Italy, Malta, Libya and Tunisia. These countries are bound by an international maritime convention to coordinate rescues within their zones.
There is little cell phone coverage over the central Mediterranean, so
smugglers often give migrants departing from Libya a satellite phone to summon help if they run into trouble, Alarm Phone says.
The migrants used a location tracker in
their phone to provide GPS coordinates to an Alarm Phone volunteer at 2:39 a.m.
An overloaded boat without a working engine can experience intense sideways rocking from waves, maritime experts say.
Engine stopped
by 3:09 a.m.
There is little cell phone coverage over
the central Mediterranean, so smugglers
often give migrants departing from Libya
a satellite phone to summon help if they
run into trouble, Alarm Phone says.
The migrants used a
location tracker in
their phone to provide
GPS coordinates to an
Alarm Phone volunteer
at 2:39 a.m.
An overloaded boat without a working engine can experience intense sideways rocking from waves, maritime experts say.
Engine stopped
by 3:09 a.m.
There is little cell phone coverage over
the central Mediterranean, so smugglers
often give migrants departing from Libya
a satellite phone to summon help if they
run into trouble, Alarm Phone says.
The migrants used a
location tracker in
their phone to provide
GPS coordinates to an
Alarm Phone volunteer
at 2:39 a.m.
An overloaded boat without a working engine can experience intense sideways rocking from waves, maritime experts say.
Engine stopped
by 3:09 a.m.
There is little cell phone coverage over
the central Mediterranean, so smugglers
often give migrants departing from Libya
a satellite phone to summon help if they
run into trouble, Alarm Phone says.
The migrants used a
location tracker in
their phone to
provide GPS
coordinates to an
Alarm Phone
volunteer at 2:39 a.m.
An overloaded boat without a working engine can experience intense sideways rocking from waves, maritime experts say.
Engine stopped
by 3:09 a.m.
There is little cell phone coverage over
the central Mediterranean, so smugglers
often give migrants departing from Libya
a satellite phone to summon help if they
run into trouble, Alarm Phone says.
The migrants used a location tracker in
their phone to provide GPS coordinates to an Alarm Phone volunteer at 2:39 a.m.
An overloaded boat without a
working engine can experience
intense sideways rocking from
waves, maritime experts say.
Engine stopped
by 3:09 a.m.
The location coordinates provided by the migrants in the dinghy show that they were in Libya’s SAR zone when they made their first calls to Alarm Phone.
Ina Fischer, a 35-year-old Alarm Phone volunteer, answered from a friend’s house in the Dutch city of Groningen, the group says.
Margot Bernard, who coordinates MSF’s search and rescue operations in the central Mediterranean, was doing a two-month rotation on the Geo Barents when Alarm Phone’s email landed in the ship’s inbox.
It was a dark night, she recalled, making the migrants difficult to spot. MSF personnel kept their eyes peeled for any light coming from the dinghy as they navigated toward its last known location. They traveled in a zigzag, figuring the migrants might not be moving in a straight line, Bernard said.
At 5:27 a.m., a report prepared by MSF for maritime authorities shows, the Geo Barents radioed for help from Pilotes Volontaires, a French aid group that carries out surveillance flights over the Mediterranean.
At 6:40 a.m., Pilotes Volontaires’ 56-year-old founder, Jose Benavente, takes off from Lampedusa with two colleagues in a small Diamond DA42 plane, a timeline provided by the group shows.
They spot the dinghy at 7:06 a.m., and 15 minutes later, a colleague sends an email to the Maltese and Italian rescue centres saying it is at “high risk” of sinking or capsizing.
With no word from maritime authorities, MSF dispatches two speedboats from the Geo Barents at 8:03 a.m. to locate the migrants, according to the group’s report.
At 9:19 a.m., MSF sends another email saying its speedboats have established visual contact with the migrants’ vessel, which it says is emanating “a strong fuel smell”.
The email says MSF has received no instructions from Malta or any other rescue centre, and there is no other vessel on site. So it intends to “provide immediate assistance to these people in distress”.
As the speedboats approached the dinghy, the migrants waved to attract their attention, but they seemed worried that the boats might belong to Libyan forces, Bernard said. There were cheers when they were told the boats were from the Geo Barents, she said.
The migrants were weak and dehydrated from their ordeal, she added. Eight were later treated for chemical burns because they had been sitting on the floor, where fuel was mixing with sea water, and there was no room to move.
Video of the rescue shows MSF personnel helping the migrants into the speedboats. They were now wearing orange life vests provided by the group. Some asked to see a doctor, while others waved their hands in celebration and took selfies with their phones.
Before leaving the scene, MSF personnel wrote “MSF MSF 15/8” on the dinghy, so anyone who spotted it would know about the rescue.
A photograph taken from a Pilotes Volontaires plane shows two Medecins Sans Frontieres speedboats approaching the migrants’ dinghy from both sides on August 15, 2024. Pilotes Volontaires/Handout via REUTERS
When the speedboats returned to the Geo Barents, MSF contacted authorities in Malta and Italy to request a safe port to bring the migrants ashore, emails show.
MSF received no response from Malta, Bernard said. But a short while later, Italy’s rescue centre sent an email saying they could bring the migrants to Livorno, about 1,000 km away.
It took three days to reach Livorno, Bernard said. Lampedusa was about 90 km away, and Sicily 300 km away.
Aug. 18
Migrants arrive
in Italy, 1,035 km
from rescue site
MSF rescue ship
Geo Barents
Aug. 15
Migrants rescued
209 km from
departure point
Aug. 14
Boat leaves Libya
Aug. 18
Migrants arrive
in Italy, 1,035 km
from rescue site
MSF rescue ship
Geo Barents
Aug. 15
Migrants rescued
209 km from
departure point
Aug. 14
Boat leaves Libya
Aug. 18
Migrants arrive
in Italy, 1,035 km
from rescue site
MSF rescue ship
Geo Barents
Aug. 15
Migrants rescued
209 km from
departure point
Aug. 14
Boat leaves Libya
Aug. 18
Migrants arrive
in Italy, 1,035 km
from rescue site
MSF rescue ship
Geo Barents
Aug. 15
Migrants rescued
209 km from
departure point
Aug. 14
Boat leaves Libya
A map of the rescue of the migrants by the rescue ship Geo Barents.
Source: Medecins Sans Frontieres, VesselFinder
Since 2022, Italy has been sending ships operated by NGOs to more distant ports to drop off migrants, increasing their travel time and fuel costs, rescue groups told Reuters.
Italian officials said at the time that Lampedusa was overwhelmed with arrivals, and they needed to spread the burden.
Average number of
migrants rescued per NGO mission
Giorgia Meloni government (Oct. 2022 – present)
Mario Draghi government (Feb. 2021 – Oct. 2022)
Average distance from
Lampedusa to drop-off ports
Giorgia Meloni government (Oct. 2022 – present)
Mario Draghi government (Feb. 2021 – Oct. 2022)
Average number of
migrants rescued per NGO mission
Average distance from
Lampedusa to drop-off ports
Giorgia Meloni government
(Oct. 2022 – present)
Mario Draghi government
(Feb. 2021 – Oct. 2022)
Average number of
migrants rescued per NGO mission
Average distance from
Lampedusa to drop-off ports
Giorgia Meloni government
(Oct. 2022 – present)
Mario Draghi government
(Feb. 2021 – Oct. 2022)
A graphic showing the average number of migrants rescued per NGO mission.
Italian ports designated
for dropping off migrants
since 2022
Distance from
Lampedusa
1,490 km
Italian ports designated
for dropping off migrants
since 2022
Distance from
Lampedusa
1,490 km
Italian portsdesignated for dropping off
migrants since 2022
Distance from
Lampedusa
1,490 km
Italian portsdesignated for dropping off
migrants since 2022
Distance from Lampedusa
1,490 km
Italian ports designated
for dropping off migrants
since 2022
Distance from Lampedusa
1,490 km
A map of ports where NGO ships were sent to disembark migrants they had rescued.
Source: Data gathered by Matteo Villa, researcher at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies, and Vittorio Nicoletta, researcher at HEC Montreal as of August 11
Accusing rescue groups of acting as a de facto taxi service, Italy passed a law in 2023 requiring that ships request access to a port and sail to it “without delay” after a rescue, rather than remain at sea looking for other migrants in distress. Previously, charity vessels would spend several days in the central Mediterranean, regularly completing multiple rescues before heading north towards Italy.
Ships that repeatedly break the rules can be impounded for up to 60 days. This has happened more than 30 times, SOS Mediterranee communications coordinator Alisha Vaya told Reuters.
The number of days when there were no NGO ships available to carry out rescues in the central Mediterranean increased from fewer than six per month on average in 2022 to more than nine last year, a Reuters review of internal estimates from 15 charities found. The estimates were compiled by SOS Mediterranee, which stopped collecting the data in 2025.
Average days per month without any NGO ships available to perform
rescues in the central Mediterranean
Average days per month without any NGO ships available to perform
rescues in the central Mediterranean
Average days per month without any NGO ships available to perform
rescues in the central Mediterranean
A chart in the form of a calendar showing the average number of days per month without any NGO ships available to perform rescues in the central Mediterranean.
Source: Reuters analysis of internal estimates from charities compiled by SOS Mediterranee
“When there are fewer rescue ships at sea, the risk of shipwrecks increases,” said Flavio Di Giacomo, an IOM spokesperson.
In December, MSF suspended rescues in the central Mediterranean, saying in a statement that it had become untenable to operate the 600-capacity Geo Barents when the vessel was being asked to travel to distant ports with as few as 13 migrants aboard. MSF is outfitting a smaller boat and hopes to resume rescues in September, said Juan Matias Gil, who heads the group’s search and rescue mission.
The migrants in the dinghy were lucky, said Benavente, Pilotes Volontaires’ founder. Their boat was just a “tiny point” in the sea. But a rescue ship was nearby; the migrants had a functional satellite phone, and their overloaded boat did not capsize or sink.
“We know that things can turn wrong very, very quickly,” Benavente said.
Minutes after completing the rescue, MSF personnel on the Geo Barents spotted an empty wooden boat nearby.
There was no indication of what happened to the passengers.
Angelo Amante, Tarek A. Amara, Latifa Guesmi, David Latona and Ryan McNeill
Alexandra Zavis, Jon McClure