Méditerranée : hausse inquiétante de "naufrages invisibles” de migrants
Bodies found at sea, boats reported missing, and families without news. In the Mediterranean, migrant disappearances are multiplying in what humanitarian organizations are now calling "invisible shipwrecks."
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the beginning of 2026 was the deadliest ever recorded on this migration route. More than 600 deaths or disappearances were recorded in January and February, an already alarming figure but likely a significant underestimate.
The cause: a growing lack of information. NGOs denounce a reduction in transparency on the part of several authorities, particularly in Italy, Malta and Tunisia, regarding rescue operations and shipwrecks.
This situation greatly complicates the documentation process. Due to a lack of reliable data, many cases remain impossible to verify. The IOM has even had to create a new category to record unconfirmed disappearances.
The phenomenon intensified after Cyclone Harry struck the region in January, bringing severe weather. According to several organizations, hundreds of migrants who had departed from the Tunisian coast disappeared at sea during this period. In the following weeks, bodies were found on the Italian and Libyan coasts, but a precise death toll could not be established.
Experts speak of a “strategy of silence,” accusing certain authorities of limiting the dissemination of information about these tragedies. This lack of transparency prevents the media and NGOs from confirming the facts and assessing the true extent of the crisis.
For the families of the missing, the uncertainty is particularly painful. Without official confirmation, they remain in limbo, not knowing whether their loved ones are alive or dead.
In a context of budget constraints and political pressure on humanitarian organizations, monitoring this migration route is becoming increasingly difficult.
As a result, a growing number of tragedies in the Mediterranean are now taking place off the radar, transforming this migration crisis into a silent tragedy.
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