Eleven corpses were today spotted in the central Mediterranean by the crew of Albatross, the monitoring plane jointly operated by SOS Mediterranee and the Humanitarian Pilots Initiative (Hpi). The bodies, NGOs report, were in an advanced state of decomposition. «While the plane was flying at a lower altitude – they explain – the crew managed to distinguish further details: some of the bodies were still wearing clothes, others were floating thanks to tire inner tubes. While the circumstances and exact timing of the shipwreck remain unknown, this testimony is a stark reminder of the human consequences of Europe’s lethal policies of indifference and deterrence at all costs. It adds to the increasingly heavy toll of lives lost on this route, where, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), at least 872 people have died or gone missing since the start of the year – a 24% increase compared to the same period in 2025, when at least 702 deaths were documented.
The number of people arriving in Europe via the central Mediterranean has decreased, but “a greater percentage are losing their lives along the way”. «The number of people arriving in Italy – say the NGOs – has fallen by 56%, a figure often highlighted by the Italian government as proof of the success of its migration policies. But the decline in arrivals has not made the crossing safer: the estimated mortality rate now stands at almost 3%, meaning that about one person dies or goes missing for every 35 who attempt the crossing. These figures demonstrate that fewer departures have not resulted in fewer deaths, but rather an increasing risk to the lives of those who continue to undertake the journey.”