Up to 1,000 people have gone missing at sea and are feared dead after a huge storm ripped through the Mediterranean last month.
The migrant-rescue non-governmental organisation (NGO) Mediterranea Saving Humans estimated the number based on testimonies from refugees in Libya and Tunisia.
Huge waves and gale-force winds caused by Storm Harry battered the coast of southern Italy, parts of Spain and the island of Malta, two weeks ago.
Now the NGO’s president Laura Marmorale has described it as ‘one of the biggest tragedies in recent years on the central Mediterranean route’.
She accused the governments of Italy and Malta of staying ‘silent’ and ‘not moving a finger’ to help rescue the migrants.
The group was formed in 2018 after ‘thousands of deaths in the Mediterranean’ and in response to Italy’s ‘closed-port policy’ which bans NGO-operated ships from docking.
It said that between January 14 and January 21 they had recorded eight boats leaving from Tunisia’s eastern coast, each carrying between 30-50 people.
However none of the boats were subsequently located, the group said, with no rescues reported from authorities.
Migrants pictured making journey from Tunisia towards Italy in the Mediterranean
Waves batter Fort Ricasoli and the breakwater at the entrance to Grand Harbour as Storm Harry
Damage to the seafront caused by Storm Harry during the night in Marina di San Lorenzo in Sicily, January 21, 2026
The disappearance of the boats coincided with the period of time when Storm Harry caused waves of more than seven metres and winds reaching over 50 knots.
A spokesperson for the NGO said: ‘The boats did not simply disappear — they were lost during some of the most dangerous sea conditions recorded in the past twenty years.’
At the same time, Ahmed Omar Shafik, captain of a merchant vessel, shared images of his ship rescuing Ramadan Konte, a Sierra Leone national, off the southern coast of Malta.
Konte reportedly told the captain that he had been aboard a boat carrying 50 people, which then capsized and claimed he had spent more than 24 hours in the water before he was rescued.
He said he believed everyone else on the boat had died.
The NGO reported that another smuggler in Tunisia had sent ten more boats out to sea, each carrying around 50 people, with only one returning.
Ms Marmorale added: “Faced with all this, the silence and inaction of the governments of Malta and Italy are chilling: the deaths of those who have lost their lives at sea must not be spoken about, especially when these deaths expose the failure of migration policies and cooperation with Libya and Tunisia, and while new brutal measures against migrants and solidarity are being prepared.
She added: ‘Together with Refugees in Libya and Tunisia, we will not stop forcefully demanding truth and justice even in the face of this tragedy of unheard-of proportions.’
The huge storm caused chaos across the Mediterranean, causing locals in Sicily to run for their lives after a tsunami-style storm surge flooded the streets.
In videos shared to social media, locals could be seen running away and screaming as water turned streets into rivers.
Powerful waves submerged roads and pavements, as sea foam appeared to reach the ground floors of nearby buildings.
A street flooded in the aftermath of Storm Harry on the waterfront in Catanzaro, Italy
Footage shows massive waves striking Sicily on Tuesday night as the Mediterranean was battered by powerful Storm Harry
In Catania, huge waves caused serious damage at a high-end seafood restaurant
Another clip showed the moment a towering storm surge smashed straight into the harbour on the island of Lipari, off Sicily.
The white water flooded the surrounding streets instantly, while ferocious winds and even more waves continued to relentlessly tear through the shore.
Authorities issued red alerts across Sicily, Sardinia and Calabria as the storm unleashed gale-force winds, heavy rain and vicious storm surges.
In Sicily, wind gusts reached 74 miles per hour, while waves exceeded nine metres, forcing officials to order precautionary evacuations as conditions worsened.
In Catania, the sea surged past the five-metre mark.
In the port city of Messina, conditions were so severe that a section of the seaside promenade collapsed entirely.
Some 190 people were evacuated from exposed areas across Sicily amid the threat of sudden surges and flooding.
Several towns have ordered the closure of schools, parks, and sports facilities, while firefighters have been working to help families evacuate their homes.
A flooded street following a storm surge in Bova Marina, Sicily
A huge wave is seen hitting the harbor after Storm Harry hit the coastal district of Catanzaro Lido, Italy
Storms also struck nearby Malta, with videos showing how forceful waves crashed onto the streets as palm trees were semi-submerged in water.
Winds reached 65mph, and residents across some parts of the island have been urged to stay indoors.
Malta’s Civil Protection Department warned residents to ‘avoid working at heights, including rooftops, balconies, scaffolding and exposed structures,’ and to ‘stay away from the shoreline, breakwaters, and coastal paths’.
Flights and ferries heading to Malta were diverted or cancelled, while emergency services responded to more than 180 incidents.
Elsewhere across the Mediterranean, Spain was forced to issue yellow warnings for wind and towering waves across the Andalusia region in the south.