Up to one thousand people may be missing in the Mediterranean after shipwrecks during Cyclone Harry.

Translated by Martina Marino

According to a report by Mediterranea, the number of people missing at sea between 14 and 21 January could be as high as one thousand, following the shipwreck of several boats carrying migrants that departed during those days from the coast of Sfax, Tunisia. These were the days when the Mediterranean was struck by Cyclone Harry, an exceptional weather event that caused extensive damage in Sicily, Calabria, and Sardinia, and generated waves exceeding seven meters at sea along with extremely strong winds of up to 54 knots—among the most dangerous maritime conditions recorded in this area over the past twenty years.

The first alert was issued on 24 January by the MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre) and reported by journalist Sergio Scandura. The alert concerned eight distinct SAR cases—Search and Rescue notifications—addressed to all vessels operating in the area. It referred to eight boats that had departed from Tunisia’s eastern coast, each carrying between 36 and 54 people, for an estimated total of 380 individuals. On 26 January, a statement was also released by the IOM, the International Organization for Migration, which reported having received alarming accounts of multiple deadly shipwrecks, then still under verification.

None of those boats has been found, and for several days no rescues were reported, until one man was rescued and taken to Malta. He was identified as Ramadan Konte, a citizen of Sierra Leone, who stated that he had departed from Sfax with around fifty other people of different nationalities. Their boat capsized, and he survived for more than 24 hours at sea, while none of the others have been located. Among them were his brother, sister-in-law, and nephew.

The IOM later confirmed Konte’s testimony, also reporting three additional confirmed deaths in Lampedusa following a SAR operation. Survivors of that same operation spoke of another boat that had departed from the same location but never arrived; it is feared that it too may have shipwrecked. Meanwhile, the Italian Coast Guard is conducting search operations, and a separate shipwreck has also been reported near the coast of Tobruk, Libya.

According to Mediterranea, what is certain is that the scale of what occurred far exceeds the limited official information released so far, and that this may represent one of the deadliest tragedies in the Mediterranean in recent years. In 2025 alone, at least 1,340 people lost their lives in the Central Mediterranean.

The organization Refugees in Libya is collecting data and testimonies directly from communities in Tunisia, revealing an even more alarming picture. It appears that starting on 15 January, Tunisian security forces began operations involving raids and the destruction of informal camps in the olive groves of Sfax—camps that had formed spontaneously over the years and had become highly organized, with one even hosting a small hospital—and intensified patrols along the beaches. Under this violent pressure, many groups are believed to have departed from multiple coastal points despite the extreme weather conditions. Between the 19th and 38th kilometers of coastline, between 15 and 25 boats reportedly set off, carrying up to fifty people each, and the only convoy that managed to return to Sfax reported witnessing several shipwrecks. Many people testify that they have been unable to contact those who departed during those days and have received no calls from Libya or from detention centers.

Civil society organizations are questioning how to explain this apparent “laxity” on the part of the Tunisian authorities regarding departures during those days, especially in contrast to the strong efforts to prevent departures observed in the preceding weeks. More broadly, since President Kais Saied assumed extraordinary powers in 2021, migration management has increasingly followed a securitization logic, involving interceptions at sea, forced returns, and raids in areas considered “hotspots” for departures. In 2023, the European Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Tunisia, committing funds to strengthen maritime controls and implement border management programs, without, however, establishing safe and independent monitoring mechanisms regarding the treatment of people and pushback practices. Furthermore, starting in 2024, the country has adopted increasingly aggressive policies toward NGOs working on migration, repressing and criminalizing them (as previously reported here), further complicating efforts to understand what is happening on the ground.

Meanwhile, shortly after Mediterranea’s report, on 3 February another raid by Tunisian police forces took place in one of the camps in the olive groves of Sfax. Tents and makeshift shelters were looted and then set on fire, forcing people to flee and, according to multiple testimonies, resulting in the capture of several individuals who were deported and abandoned at the borders with Algeria and Libya.

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