The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday that at least 50 people had died after a vessel carrying 75 Sudanese refugees caught fire off Libya's coast on Sunday.

The IOM said it had provided medical support to 24 survivors.

Libya has become a transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe across the Mediterranean since the fall in 2011 of dictator Muammar Gaddafi during a NATO-backed uprising.

As of February 2025, around 867,055 migrants from 44 nationalities were residing in Libya, according to IOM data.