On 1 April, the Italian coast guard said it found 19 bodies and rescued 58 people after intercepting a dinghy filled with migrants that was in distress about 80 nautical miles from the southern Italian island of Lampedusa. A coastguard spokesperson said the migrants had probably departed from Libya. The victims likely died of hypothermia but the cause of the deaths still needs to be verified.
On 5 April, around 120 migrants departed on a boat from Tajoura near Tripoli. The vessel later overturned after taking on water during harsh weather conditions, according to the International Organization for Migration. A merchant vessel and a tugboat managed to save 32 people and the Italian coast guard transferred them to the southern Italian island of Lampedusa. Two bodies were also recovered, authorities said. More than 80 people are still missing, presumed dead.
The IOM said on 7 April that the start of 2026 has been the deadliest start to a year for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea since 2014, with at least 990 deaths recorded so far this year. Meanwhile, in the Central Mediterranean alone, 765 people have died in 2026, marking about a 150% increase compared with the same period last year. Most of the deaths have been attributed to small boats setting off from the coasts of Tunisia and Libya.