LAMPEDUSA — At least 20 migrants have died after their boat overturned in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Lampedusa, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported.
“Deep anguish for the umpteenth shipwreck off the coast of Lampedusa, where UNHCR is now assisting the survivors. It looks to be 20 bodies found and as many missing,” UNHCR spokesman Filippo Ungaro wrote on social media.
Italian news agency Radio Radicale said the vessel was carrying 97 people when it capsized roughly 14 miles southwest of the island. Details remain sketchy, but Save the Children Italy warned that a one-and-a-half-year-old baby girl is believed to have been lost in the wreck.
RaiRadio1 put the number of missing migrants between 12 and 17, and reported that 60 survivors were taken to safety on Lampedusa following the incident. According to the broadcaster, the overturned boat was first sighted from the air by a plane belonging to Italy’s financial police.
Migrants making the perilous crossing from North Africa in often unseaworthy vessels try to reach Italy via this central Mediterranean route, one of the world’s deadliest. The UNHCR has recorded 675 deaths on this route so far this year.
Meanwhile, Italy’s Interior Ministry says that 38,263 migrants have arrived on Italian shores in 2025 to date. Emergency responders and humanitarian agencies continue to assist the survivors as search efforts proceed.
0 Comments