At least eleven migrants, including four Pakistani nationals, have died after a boat capsized near the Harawa coast, east of the city of Sirte in Libya. The incident occurred on 12 April, according to a report submitted by the Pakistani Embassy in Tripoli to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Libyan authorities have so far recovered eleven bodies from the site of the disaster. Four of the deceased were confirmed to be Pakistani citizens, identified through official documents by an embassy team that visited Sirte to gather details.
According to the embassy report, three of the Pakistani victims were from Mandi Bahauddin and one from Gujranwala. The deceased were named as Zahid Mehmood (son of Liaqat Ali) from Gujranwala, and Sameer Ali (son of Raja Abdul Qadeer), Syed Ali Hussain (son of Shafqat-ul-Hussnain), and Asif Ali (son of Nazar Muhammad) from Mandi Bahauddin.
The nationalities of two other victims have not yet been confirmed, while five Egyptians were also reported among the dead.
The Pakistani Embassy stated that it is working closely with Libyan authorities to obtain more information about the circumstances surrounding the incident and to assist with the repatriation process.
This latest tragedy adds to a growing list of migrant deaths off the Libyan coast. In February 2025, Pakistan’s Foreign Office confirmed the deaths of sixteen nationals in a separate boat accident near Libya, with at least ten still missing.
Libya continues to be a dangerous transit point for migrants hoping to reach Europe. Human trafficking networks often exploit vulnerable individuals, putting them at serious risk on unseaworthy boats.
