'1,000 people possibly missing at sea due to Cyclone Harry'

1,000 people may be missing at sea during Cyclone Harry

New testimonies collected by Refugees in Libya and Tunisia. The lack of information and initiative on the part of the authorities in Malta and Italy is clear.
According to information transmitted via Inmarsat dispatches from the MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre) in Rome and first reported by journalist Sergio Scandura, at least 380 people were missing at sea as of January 24. The alert grouped together eight separate SAR cases, corresponding to eight boats that departed from Sfax, on the eastern coast of Tunisia, between January 14 and 21, 2026, with the following numbers of people on board: 49, 54, 50, 51, 36, 42, 53, and 45 women, men, and children, respectively, for a total of approximately 380 people. As of January 24, none of these vessels had been located, and no confirmed rescues had been reported related to these eight SAR cases. These departures coincided exactly with the period in which the central Mediterranean, including the route from Sfax to Lampedusa, was experiencing extreme sea conditions: waves exceeding seven meters and wind gusts reaching over 54 knots, caused by Cyclone Harry. In other words, the vessels did not simply disappear, but were lost during some of the most dangerous sea conditions recorded at sea in twenty years.