Since the night between February 25 and 26, 2023, when 94 men, women and children died just meters from the shore in the Steccato di Cutro disaster, "more than 300 minors, a conservative estimate, have lost their lives in the Mediterranean," Save the Children said, pointing to an average of 100 child deaths per year.

"Faced with the tragedy of three years ago, when many people so close to the coast and to the safety they longed for found death instead, when images emerged of a beach where the sea had returned the toys of those who would never grow up, commitments were made saying 'never again', just as happened in Lampedusa after the terrible 2013 shipwreck. And yet history continues to repeat itself," the organization, which has been working to save children's lives for over 100 years, said.

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Nearly 3,000 deaths since the Cutro shipwreck

Many shipwrecks, it added, "are not visible; they occur on the high seas, far from view, without trace, as shown by the bodies of migrants that the sea continues to return day after day to the coasts of Calabria and Sicily. People are overwhelmed by the waves, but also rejected by an approach that places deterrence before the protection of human life."

According to the organization, more than 34,200 people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014, nearly 3,000 of them after the Cutro disaster.

UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration also marked the third anniversary of the Steccato di Cutro shipwreck, calling for coordinated European action to strengthen search and rescue operations at sea, ensure timely disembarkation in safe ports, guarantee effective access to international protection and durable solutions, and meaningfully expand regular entry channels.

"Honouring the victims of Cutro does not only mean remembering them: it means ensuring that their fate is not repeated," the two UN agencies stressed.

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503 deaths as of February 24, over a third of the total for 2025

The agencies further noted that "in recent days, bodies have continued to be recovered on Italian beaches. A serious shipwreck was also reported off Tobruk, Libya, which is believed to have caused at least 30 victims, confirming an extremely alarming situation."

As of February 24, 2026, according to IOM data, 503 confirmed deaths have already been recorded this year in the Central Mediterranean -- more than a third of the total recorded for the entire previous year in less than two months.

"Saving lives at sea is a legal obligation and must remain an absolute priority. It is therefore necessary to strengthen the search and rescue system," said Salvatore Sortino, Director of the IOM Coordination Office for the Mediterranean.

"Preventing these tragedies also requires decisive action against traffickers and, in parallel, the strengthening of safe and regular entry channels," he added.

For Chiara Cardoletti, UNHCR Representative for Italy, Malta, the Holy See and San Marino, "sea tragedies such as Cutro show that no State can tackle such complex phenomena alone. It is necessary to reinforce a multilateral and coordinated approach along the routes, involving countries of origin, transit and destination, to ensure protection for those entitled to it, counter abuses, and share responsibility and solutions more effectively."

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