The
Karaburun tragedy of 2004, also known as the
9 January tragedy, was a
marine incident that occurred during an attempted sea crossing from northern
Albania to
Italy by 36 people, including two dinghy operators and the smugglers' leader. They were trying to cross the
Strait of Otranto, off the southern coast of Italy, in an
inflatable boat, heading towards
Brindisi, on the
Adriatic coast of
Apulia. Twenty-eight people died or were declared lost at sea, and there were only eight survivors. For
Albanian emigrants, the tragedy had the second highest mortality rate for such events, after the
Otranto tragedy of March 1997, when the Albanian ship
Kateri i Radës, smuggling clandestine emigrants, was hit by the Italian
warship Sibilla, resulting in the death of 84 people.