Thirty-eight irregular migrants have died after a boat sank off the coast of eastern Libya, the Libyan Attorney General’s Office said on Monday.
In a statement, the office said the victims were on a dilapidated vessel that departed from the city of Tobruk, heading north across the Mediterranean.
It added that a human trafficking network had organised the journey using an unsafe boat, which sank before reaching its destination. The victims were of Sudanese, Egyptian and Ethiopian nationalities.
The statement said a prosecutor at Tobruk Primary Prosecution Office had launched a wide investigation, identifying those involved in coordinating the smuggling operation. Authorities also seized 300,000 Libyan dinars believed to be proceeds from the crime, and uncovered illegal financial flows through unlicensed financial structures.
READ: Libya, Greece discuss maritime border demarcation, irregular migration
Investigators have ordered the arrest of members of the trafficking network to bring them before prosecutors. Efforts are ongoing to identify the victims and inform their families.
The incident is the latest in a series of deadly irregular migration tragedies in the Mediterranean, where hundreds die each year. Authorities and international organisations have repeatedly warned of the dangers of using unseaworthy boats and the exploitation of migrants by smuggling networks.
Libya, particularly its eastern coast such as Tobruk, remains a major departure point for irregular migration routes towards Europe across the Mediterranean. These routes are frequently marked by fatal incidents due to unsafe vessels and the exploitation of migrants seeking better lives.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the number of deaths and missing persons in the Mediterranean has exceeded 1,000 so far in 2026, as migrant flows from Africa and the Middle East continue.
READ: Nearly 8,000 migrants died or went missing worldwide in 2025: UN migration agency
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